


Fly Away From Your Troubles (Klance)

by SoniDragon



Category: Voltron - Fandom
Genre: GalraKeith, M/M, avian - Freeform, klance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-08
Updated: 2019-02-22
Packaged: 2019-12-07 17:36:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 44,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18238094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoniDragon/pseuds/SoniDragon
Summary: Keith Kogane is a college student who can transform into a purple creature at will- which includes fluffy ears and large, feathered wings. He struggles to keep it a secret, as purple feathers are hard to hide in the snow. Then Lance comes. It's not like Keith doesn't like him- quite the opposite of that actually- it's just that it seems like Lance doesn't like Keith. But, over time they grow closer, and Keith's secret also becomes harder to hide. One day Keith's secret is exposed- and of course none other than Lance is there to save him.





	1. Coffee and Pancakes

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! SoniDragon here! This is my first Klance fic, which I posted on Wattpad originally but finally decided to post here too. I hope you all enjoy my writing, and as always thank you for reading! :D

The alarm blared in my ears. I slammed my hand down on it, agitated. I sat up, yawning and stretching my arms. The only light in my room came from the fairy lights strung above my bed and on the walls, as it was 6:00 AM in the middle of winter, so it was still dark out. The dim room was probably making it harder for me to wake up, and I lazily tapped the lamp on the nightstand. As it lit up I had to blink a few times to get used to the sudden light. I stood up and stumbled down the few steps that led to the living room, and then turned the corner and walked towards the kitchen. Shiro was standing at the counter, a cup of coffee in his hands and a plate of half-eaten pancakes in front of him.

  
“Mornin,’ Keith,” My older brother mumbled as he ate a piece of pancake. It sounded more like ‘Keef’ than ‘Keith.’ He handed me a cup of black coffee, nothing added to it. Just how I liked it. I took a sip, and almost instantly I felt more awake. Still tired, though.

  
“How come I have to wake up at _six_ in the morning, when I only have to be at school by eight?” I said to Shiro, making sure he knew how tired and agitated I was.

  
“Well, first because _I_ have to be at an interview by 7:00,” he smirked, “Second, don’t you think that for once it’s nice to not be rushing in the morning because you slept in?” I grumbled at that. Shiro knew I wasn’t a morning person. For him, he always woke up early and somehow was never tired. I, on the other hand, was the opposite. Clearly.

  
I took my mug of coffee into the living room, and practically fell onto one of the beanbags laid out on the floor in front of the couch. I turned on the TV and switched from some cooking competition(what Shiro watched, he would try to make what they were cooking, but always failed) and skipped through the channels. I stopped on some channel that showed crows. Whatever, I thought while shrugging, and set the remote down.

  
\- - -

Half an hour later, Shiro was leaving the apartment. He wore a white button down shirt and black pants, and was doing his tie as he walked towards the door. His outfit matched perfectly with his black hair with the white floof. He grabbed a briefcase, and his jacket, which were laid out on the back of the couch.

  
“Bye, Keith! Don’t forget to get ready for school, and wish me luck!” Shiro said to me as he opened the door, and left. Three seconds later, he opened the door again.

  
“Oh! And try not to crash on your way to school. Bye!” The door closed behind him.

  
“Finally,” I whispered to myself. Now I can _really_ wake up. I turned off the TV, and walked up towards my bedroom. It was built into the wall of the living room, and was elevated a bit, so there were a few steps to get to it. I changed into black jeans and a grey T-shirt, and pulled on my red sweatshirt over that. I grabbed a grey beanie as well, and halfway opened the window above my bed. Climbing on the bed, I opened the window further and perched on the windowsill. The wind blew a few Polaroid photos off of my desk, but that didn’t matter. I’d just pick them up when I got back. Crouching on the windowsill, with one arm grasping the side, I looked down at the dim streets, five stories below. I tied my hair into a small ponytail, then leapt out of the window. 


	2. Morning Flight

I felt the wind blow on my face, and raised a hand to keep the beanie on my head. After a few seconds of enjoying the wind in my face, I spread my wings, which could appear on cue. Along with a feathered tail, frill down my back, and soft, fluffy ears, this was why I'd waited for Shiro to leave. This was the secret I struggled to keep.

Flying through the tall buildings, I felt the cool air on my face, and took a deep breath. This was how I could _really_ wake up, not with coffee, but flying through the city. (Coffee still helped, though.) Many of the buildings below me were just now lighting up, and I flew higher to stay out of sight. I did somersaults in the air. The tallest skyscraper sparkled as the sun started coming up. I flew over to it and perched on the roof of the building. The small layer of snow on the building made it shimmer the colors of the sunrise. Yellow, orange, pink, blue, and purple, with hints of red. I sat on the building, watching the sunrise. Some small snowflakes fell from the clouds, but I wasn't cold. In this form, I had enough protection from the cold, along with the hoodie I wore. Now this was a good way to start the day.

Before the sun rose all the way, I flew back to my apartment, making sure to keep out of sight. As I jumped into the window, I transformed back to a human, knocking down more photos and figurines as I landed. (I'm not very good at landing yet.) I picked up what had fallen off my desk. I looked at the Polaroid photos, remembering when I had taken them. A small smile appeared on my face. Those were good times.

I pulled off the red sweatshirt, which had many holes in it from wearing it constantly when I transformed. As I stuffed it back in my closet, I put on a red flannel on top of the T-shirt I wore. I checked the clock. It read 7:28. I slipped on a pair of black converse, and stepped down into the living room. I slung my black messenger bag over my shoulder. Quickly stuffing a piece of pancake(which was cold by now) in my mouth, and pouring a cup of black coffee in a travel mug(so that it wouldn't spill), I left the apartment and ran down the five flights of stairs to the parking lot. There, I got on my red and black motorcycle, and headed on my way to class.

\- - -

I sat there during a lecture, sketching crows in my sketchbook. As soon as it ended, I quickly left the building and rode to the nearest Starbucks, which my friend Hunk also happened to work at. He made many of the sweets and food that they served there, and it was by far the best Starbucks because of it. I walked in, and saw Pidge sitting at a table, drinking a Frappuccino and doing something on her computer. Her real name was Katie, but most people called her by her nickname.

"Hey, Pidge," I said, walking over to the table and placing my bag down on a chair. She closed her computer, and looked up at me.

"Hey," she said, "You look tired." I sat down at the table, and took off my beanie.

"Yeah, Shiro made me wake up at six this morning," I replied, resting my chin on my hand. "And then I had an early lecture which was so boring it made me even _more_ tired." I sighed. Pidge looked at me like she was in The Office.

"Yeah, that's _so_ terrible. Do you know how late I stay up, and wake up at the same time? And I'm not tired."

"You know what? I—" I paused.

"Yeah?" Pidge said.

"Nevermind," I said angrily as I stood up and walked towards the back of the Starbucks to order a coffee. I said hi to Hunk as I did so, and soon he handed me a black coffee with a smile drawn on the side of the cup. I started walking back to the table, but was soon interrupted.

"Oh! And Keith, can we hang out at your place after I finish working? We were going to go to Pidge's, but she didn't want us ruining any of her tech stuff," Hunk told me.

"Yeah, that's fine," I said.

"Also, a new friend of mine is going to be joining us. He's a foreign exchange student from Cuba, and is staying at my house while he's here."

"Ok," I replied. _I wonder what this friend of Hunk's is like,_ I thought as I walked back over to the table. 


	3. Polaroid Pictures

It was 6:00, and I was in my apartment waiting for Hunk and Pidge to arrive. Shiro was here too, but he was going to leave with his boyfriend Matt, Pidge’s brother, who was coming over with Pidge. I was doodling a feather on my arm when I heard the doorbell. I jumped up from the couch and opened the door. As soon as it opened, my eyes landed on a new face.  _ He must be Hunk’s friend, _ I thought. The boy had caramel skin dotted with freckles over his face. He had chestnut brown hair, and the most beautiful blue eyes.  _ Wait, what?! No, that’s not right.  _ Not  _ beautiful, just blue. Yep. Just blue. _ He wore a blue hoodie(with what seemed like a abstract picture of the ocean on it) and jeans. 

“Hey Keith. This is Lance,” Hunk said, gesturing to the Cuban boy. Wait a second, I recognized that name. Now that I thought about it, Lance looked familiar, too.  _ Where did I know him from? _

“‘Sup, Mullet,” Lance responded after looking at me. He saluted, a smirk on his face. He quickly walked past me and followed Pidge into the apartment. I stood there for a few seconds, processing what he had just said. Did he seriously just call me ‘Mullet?!’ I heard Pidge laugh behind me, and the sound of a high-five between the two.

 

\- - -

 

The four of us were sitting around the TV. Hunk and Pidge were on the couch, and Lance and I sat on the bean bags in front of the TV. We had been playing Mario Kart for awhile now, which was pretty much just a constant battle between Lance and I. It was really making me angry how he would always win, and not need to try hard at all. (For one, he was amazing at aiming shells at people, especially me. Every time I was ahead of him I’d get hit by him and he would end up winning. He’d also blue shelled me countless times) Pidge was good at the game too, once she was able to find a way to hack it. She pretty much continuously blue shelled whoever was in first. 

Currently, Lance and I were fighting for first place, and it was on the final lap. My character(which was Dry Bones, who I always played with) was in the lead.  _ Maybe I’ll actually win this one, _ I thought. But then Lance chuckled from across the room, and before I could think about why he did that, I was hit by a shell, and Lance’s character passed me. Shit. We rounded a corner, and got the final power up. I prayed that I would get something to get back in first place. It landed on a red shell! I internally celebrated because I was terrible at aiming shells, but with reds I didn’t have to. I hit Lance, and passed him just as we crossed the finish line. Lance whispered “ _ Mierda,” _ under his breath, but I had no idea what that meant. I dropped my controller and threw a fist in the air. Finally, I beat him! 

“Ha! Now who’s the loser,” I said. Lance looked angry for a second, but then smiled. 

“Still you,” he replied. What? I looked at the screen, and  _ of course _ Lance won the Grand Prix in the end. I crossed my arms. 

“Aw, come on Mullet,” Lance said, teasing me, “Don’t be a sore loser.” 

“Lance, Keith’s always a sore loser,” Pidge said. 

“Oh, yeah I know,” Lance replied. Hunk and Pidge looked at him, confused. Lance realized he needed to elaborate. “Oh right, you two didn’t know. Keith went to Cuba last year, and we met at the restaurant where I was performing. He was grumpy the whole time.” 

So that’s where I knew Lance from! I remembered that trip, my Mom had forced me to go with her, and then when I returned my father was gone. (He had died in a fire, as he was a firefighter.) Lance and I had started out hating each other(or it was just because I was very moody then), but as the trip went on we became closer friends. I remembered Lance telling me how much he wanted to go to school in the United States.  _ It’s a coincidence that he ended up going to school in the same city I live, and is also staying with one of  _ my _ friends,  _ I thought. 

“Keith!” I was snapped out of my thoughts.

“Uh….Yeah?” 

“Do you want to do another race?” 

“Sure,” I said, then suddenly remembered something. “Actually, wait one second. Lance, come with me,” I said as I stood up and motioned to my bedroom. Lance got up and followed me up the steps. 

 

(Lance’s POV) 

 

I followed Keith to his bedroom, wondering why he wanted me to come. We walked up the few steps to his room, and I looked around. The room wasn’t big, but not small either. Cozy. There were fairy lights strung above the bed, window, and on the walls. They gave off a yellow-white glow, and were the only light in the room. Across from the door was Keith’s bed, messy and unmade, with lots of pillows on the bed(and some on the floor). To the right of the bed was a desk, covered in photos, sketchbooks, headphones, pencils and pens, a Polaroid camera(also a normal camera), and a few figurines. To the left, by the door, was a closet, and in front of that two piles of books. Above the bed was also a shelf, with some type of plant, and more books. The walls were plastered with all sorts of posters, drawings, and photos. Keith tapped the lamp on his desk as we walked in, and it turned on.  _ Woah, that’s cool _ , I thought. The lamp turned on with just a tap. Keith picked up some of the Polaroid photos that were on his desk, and sat down on the bed, motioning for me to come over. 

In his hands were four photos, each from his trip to Cuba. The first, he seemed to be at the top of a hill, and his mother was behind him, not realizing that he was taking the picture. She held a book about birds, and there was a hawk perched on her arm. The second was a sunset over the ocean. My eyes moved to the third, and I smiled. It was of  _ me _ , holding a guitar and singing. I remembered that night, when I met Keith. The final picture was a selfie that Keith and I had taken after my performance. We had talked for some time outside the restaurant, and he had snapped the photo as a firefly had landed on me. I took the picture from his hands, smiling. I thought back to that night, and was sure Keith was thinking about it too. In the photo I had a surprised look on my face, and my eyes were filled with joy and hope. Keith was looking at me, a light in his eyes that didn’t seem to show anymore. 

“I can’t believe you kept these,” I said to him after looking at the photo. He showed a small smile, and the light from the fairy lights shone off his purple eyes. His long black hair covered most of his face, though, but if I looked close I swear I could have seen him blushing a bit.

“Of course I did,” Keith said, “That was the night that made the trip worthwhile.” 

I could hear my heart thumping in my chest. Why was he making me feel this way?  _ They’re just a few photos _ , I told myself. 

“What are you guys doing? Hurry up!” I heard Pidge suddenly shout from the other room. 

“Well, we better get going, or face the wrath of Pidge,” I said as I stood up and turned to leave, giving the photo back to Keith. He put them back on the desk.

“Lance, wait,” Keith said, and I turned around to face him. “Here,” he said as he handed me the photo of the two of us, and walked past me, leaving me alone in the room. I stood there for a few seconds before sliding the photo in my pocket and joining Hunk, Pidge, and Keith in the other room. We continued playing games and messing around until we all fell asleep. I continued to beat Keith in most of the games we played. 

 

(Keith’s POV)

 

_ I looked out over the balcony, out into the sea. The sun had almost set, with only a few streaks of orange left in the navy blue sky. The stars sparkled off of the water, along with the moon, which lit up the night.  _

_ “Hey,” a voice said behind me. The boy walked over to stand next to me, and leaned against the balcony. I recognized him as the boy who had performed earlier. We had met earlier today too, and him and his friends teased me and made fun of my hair. What was  _ he _ doing here?  _

_ “What do you want?” I said to him angrily.  _

_ “Hey, I just walked out here, I had no idea you were here,” the Cuban boy said. “But, since I’m here now, I wanted to say I’m...sorry. For teasing you. I know you must be mad. I would be too. I didn’t really want to do it, my jerk friends made me. I guess I’m not really a very good friend with them. I never was. But anyways….” He shook his head a little, not realizing, and mumbled something in Spanish. He held out his hand. “I’m Lance,” he said, and flashed a smile.  _

_ “Keith,” I said, not looking at him. He sighed. I looked over at him. For a second, he seemed to look really, really sad as he looked up at the stars. Then his expression changed to a happy one. _

_ “You did great tonight, by the way. You have an amazing voice, even though I didn't understand anything you were saying,” I told him. Lance laughed. _

_ “Thanks. I try,” he paused, “You know, I’ve actually always wanted to go to the USA, to go to school there. Someday I hope I can maybe even be a real musician, who people know of, and like,” Lance sighed. “But, it will probably never happen.” I looked at him. _

_ “Hey, listen,” I said. “I’m not really good with words, but I hope this helps. Never give up on your dreams, ok? Even if you think it may be impossible now, don’t keep trying to make it happen.” My hand touched the Polaroid camera strung over my shoulder. I took it out, and held the camera up in front of Lance and I. I took the picture just as a firefly landed on Lance’s nose. It fluttered away, the light disappearing in the stars.  _


	4. Cuts and Scars

Hunk, Pidge, Lance, and I walked into the café, bundled in many layers as it was snowing. (Well, except for me, who only wore a sweatshirt because I kept forgetting to buy a winter coat.) 

“Geez, were you born in Alaska? How are you not cold?!” Lance asked me as soon as we walked into the Starbucks. Unlike me, he wore many layers(a sweatshirt over his baseball tee, _ and _ a thick winter coat, along with a winter hat), and was still shivering. 

“I just don’t get cold,” I told him, shrugging. “Also, I was born in Texas. So not really anywhere near Alaska.” I heard Lance snicker behind me.  _ Great. Now I’m probably never going to hear the end of it.  _

I walked up to the cashier, and ordered a cup of black coffee. Lance ordered a caramel macchiato, Pidge a caffé mocha, and Hunk a hazelnut mocha macchiato. 

Once we received our drinks, we all sat down at the couches in front of a fireplace. 

“Keith, I’ve never understood how you can drink just plain coffee,” Pidge said as she added a heap of cinnamon to her drink. 

“I like the taste,” I responded, and shrugged. 

“Well, I agree with Pidge. Raw coffee tastes awful. You have to add something sweet to it.” Lance held up his drink. “Like caramel. Dulce de leche is better of course, but they don’t have that in Starbucks.” 

“Oh yeah, Lance, you have to bring us some sometime! Or at least tell me where I can get it,” Hunk said. 

“Ok, I’ll try to remember to bring some next time,” Lance replied.  

The conversation continued, but I stopped paying attention as when I felt my phone buzz in my pocket, and took it out. Before even looking at whatever the notification was for, I noticed that the time was 9:55. _ Oh no. _ I only had five minutes to get to my lecture! I stood up quickly and  basically ran out of the café, all while telling Hunk, Lance, and Pidge why I had to leave. 

My motorcycle was still at the apartment, so I had to run to the school. It was only four blocks away, but I was still going to be late. I ran down the streets, and almost got hit by a car as I crossed a street. As I ran up to the building, I checked my watch, which read that it was 9:59.  _ One minute. _ I managed to run into the room just as the clock hit 10:00.  _ Phew. I made it. _

“Buenos dias, víctimas!” The professor said as I sat down. (He said that at the start of every class. This wasn’t Spanish, but he was from Venezuela and those who didn’t know Spanish soon learned what it meant.) The professor started talking, and I soon started doodling more on my arm.

\- - -

 

It was five minutes after 12 when I arrived home, so I still had an hour before going to work. I decided to ride to an area of the city with less people, where I could go for a quick flight without being seen. I parked my motorcycle near Fitler Square, and walked down a few streets to the small park nearby. Luckily, there was no one there at the time. I hid behind a bush, took off my shirt(because of the wings) transformed, and flew up through the trees. 

Most of the houses here were row houses, with red bricks and different colored doors. I flew just over these, looking around the neighborhood as I don’t come here very often. (Though it  _ was _ a good place to relax and draw.) I reached a house that had a large chimney on the roof, and landed there. I lay down on the roof, using my wings as a headrest, and looked up at the clouds. I fidgeted with the feathers on my tail, and ran my finger down one of them. They were soft, but also bristle in the other direction. 

After maybe ten minutes, I heard some voices from the street. My heart rate went up a bit, and I crawled onto the other side of the roof to avoid being seen. As I did so, some snow fell off of the roof. I swore to myself when the people noticed. 

“What was that?” One of them said. 

The other responded with “I’m not sure,” and then, “I saw something move on that roof. …. It looked….purple…” 

As they said this my heart rate went up even more and I backed further down the other side of the roof. As I stepped back, my foot landed on an icy spot.  _ Fuck— _ I slipped, falling down onto the street. Right where I could be seen. 

I panicked when I saw someone on the street, staring right at me. So I did the first thing I could think of in this situation; I flew away. As quick as I could. I heard a gasp and footsteps behind me, but I didn’t care. I didn’t care where I was going, I just had to get away from there, from whoever had seen me.  _ They must think I’m a monster. Like what my father thought.  _

I glanced behind me, hoping that I had gotten away from them. They were still chasing me, so I turned a corner, and then another, and another. I over my shoulder to see if they were still there. No one.  _ Phew. _

But, I also wasn’t looking where I was going. Before I knew it I crashed into a wall, and heard something shatter as I did so. 

There were pieces of glass at my feet when I looked down. I looked up(which hurt to do so) and  _ of course _ I happened to crash into a mosaic mural that was on the street. I rubbed my head, to try to ease the pain. (It obviously didn’t work too well) I tried standing up, and everything hurt. Walking(limping) into a nearby alleyway, I plucked out a few long feathers from my tail. I didn’t have any bandages, so feathers will have to do. There was blood on the snow where I stepped, and I had cuts all along my wings, legs, and arms. There was also one large cut on my right shoulder, that surely would leave a scar. 

I transformed back to a human, and watched the purple disappear from my skin. I wrapped some of the cuts with feathers; they weren’t much use but at least stopped the bleeding a little. 

I glanced around the corner of the alley; luckily no one was there. I ran(well as fast as I could go at the moment, which wasn’t very fast) down the block, trying to get back to the park where I left my sweatshirt. I was currently shirtless, freezing, and bleeding. And getting a little bit lightheaded, at that. 

But, then I heard voices around the corner where I was headed. 

“Ahh! Why does it have to be so cold?!” 

_ Wait a second, I recognize that voice… _

“We’re almost at my house, Lance, just wait a minute.” 

That was Hunk and Lance! And, from the next voice, it seemed like Pidge was there too. But, they were about to turn the corner, and I couldn’t get away that quickly without my wings. And I  _ couldn’t _ be seen. Not by them. 

I began to walk in the other direction, though I was getting very lightheaded. I glanced behind me, and sure enough, Lance, Hunk, and Pidge had turned down the street, and were walking in my direction.  _ Of course, how could I forget that Hunk’s house is in this neighborhood?! Why was I so stupid as to fly around here— _

“Keith?” I heard Pidge say. I froze. Then, slowly, turned around. 

“Hey,” I said. The three of them stared at me, clearly surprised by my many cuts, and probably why I was shirtless too. 

“Oh my goodness, what happened?!” Hunk said, rather loud. 

“Yeah, where did you get all those cuts? And also, why are you shirtless?” I needed an excuse. Something they would believe. 

“I, uh, crashed my motorcycle. Yep. Right into a window…” As I said that, I suddenly felt as though I was going to faint. I rubbed my head, which still hurt exceptionally. When I pulled my hand away, it was covered in blood. I wavered, and found myself starting to fall. But, someone caught me, and sure enough it was Lance.

“Keith, don’t worry you’re gonna be okay,” Lance said. His eyes showed that he was actually concerned. “Come on, let’s go inside. Hunk, do you have bandages?” 

“Thanks,” I said weakly as I leaned against him. It was like this the whole walk to Hunk’s house. 


	5. Bandages

I woke up later that day in Hunk’s house. It was a fairly small house, a nice row house built out of light red bricks with a pastel yellow door and accents. I remembered Hunk had told me that it was his grandmother’s house, and he had lived with her until she passed away. Then he lived there alone; that is until Lance moved in with him. 

Pidge had wrapped most of my cuts with bandages, Lance had given me one of his shirts, and then three of them asked me about what happened while I rested. Since I couldn’t tell them the truth, I continued with the story that I crashed my motorcycle. 

“I didn’t even know you drove a motorcycle. That’s so cool!” Lance said, a little loudly. “Maybe sometime I could go for a ride?” 

I blushed a little. I was about to respond but was interrupted by Pidge. “Also, we called Shiro and told him what happened. He said he’s coming over as soon as he gets out of work.” 

“Okay, thanks,” I said. The rest of the evening was spent talking and getting too competitive over board games. At around 8, Shiro arrived and after thanking Pidge, Hunk, and Lance, we drove home. The ride was quiet, and I hoped he wasn’t angry with me. 

“.... Shiro? Are you—“ 

“I was worried about you, Keith,” Shiro said. “When I got a call from Lance saying that you were hurt, I was scared you weren’t okay.” 

“Well, I’m fine now…” 

“That’s not the point! You should have been more careful. How did you even manage to crash your motorcycle?!” I didn’t respond for a few seconds. I don’t think I’d ever seen Shiro this angry. He’d never yelled at me before. 

“Well, I just…wasn’t looking where I was going I guess…” I finally said, looking away. Shiro sighed.

“Sorry, Keith. I just… I was worried, ok? I couldn’t imagine if something worse had happened to you.” 

“I know Shiro, you’re just looking out for me, but I’m not that young anymore. I’m fine, see?” I said. We pulled into the parking lot near our apartment, and as he parked, Shiro looked over to me. He smiled softly. 

“I know you are.” 

We got out of the car and Shiro helped me up the stairs to our apartment. We ate dinner, and he helped me change my bandages. He was shocked when he saw how deep the cut on my shoulder was, but at least happy I was ok. We chose to watch a movie, and turned on the TV. Before switching to Netflix, the news showed up on the screen, and Shiro paused. We both turned to see the story, and as I saw it, I gasped. It almost didn’t seem real, but at the same time was too real to count as a dream. I wish it was, though. I just stared blankly at the TV screen, the headline played in my head over and over. 

**_“Mysterious Feathered Monster Seen in Fitler Square, Philadelphia.”_ **


	6. Mysteries

_ Monster.  _ I was a monster.  _ Of course you’re a monster to them,  _ my subconscious told me. I tried to push away those thoughts, but it didn’t help. 

“Woah, Keith, do you see this?! They’re saying the creature was seen in Fitler Square this afternoon! Isn’t that where you were?” Shiro said suddenly. 

“Yeah, that was. But I… I didn’t see anything there,” I said, trying to act like I was calm, when internally I was freaking out. It was hard to focus throughout the whole movie, and I had a hard time falling asleep that night. I kept waking up with the same nightmare; that I was found and captured, and everyone I cared about left me for the monster I was. 

 

\- - -

 

The next morning I had trouble waking up, and it didn’t help much that I had to wake up early to go to work. Shiro must have noticed that something was off; when I walked into the kitchen he asked me if I was okay. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a bit tired,” I told him as I made myself coffee. Shiro looked at me with a worried look. 

“Ok. Do you need me to drive you to work or can you walk? Since your motorcycle is still left where you crashed it,” He said, the last part a bit quieter than the rest. I now remembered that Renegade—that was the name of my motorcycle—was still parked in the square, and hoped that no one had stolen her. 

“No, I think I’m fine walking,” I told him, then remembered something. “Hey, Shiro, does Allura know why I wasn’t at work yesterday?” 

“I told her that you weren’t able to go, yes. But she doesn’t know that you crashed, so she might be confused as to why you’re covered in scratches,” Shiro said. Then he added, “Oh and also, she told me that Romelle was working an extra shift since you were gone yesterday. So Romelle might be a bit angry at you when you get there…” 

“That’s okay, I’ve had to face her wrath before. I’ll survive,” I responded. Shiro smiled, then glanced at the clock and reminded me that I should be leaving, or else I’d be late. 

“Oh, right. Thanks, Shiro!” I said as I grabbed my coat and ran out of the house. Shiro shouted something, but I was already running down the stairs. 

Since I didn’t have Renegade, the trip would take a little longer, but still no more than ten minutes. Soon I reached the right street, and walked up to the white brick building with a red sign that read  _ Blick Art Materials _ . I entered the shop, and saw Romelle at the Copic marker stand, stocking it for the day. She looked over at me as I walked in. 

“Hey, Romelle,” I said, “Sorry I wasn’t able to make it yesterday. I sort of… crashed…” She raised an eyebrow. 

“Seriously, Keith, you crashed your motorcycle? I thought you were good at driving that thing,” she responded, smiling so I knew she was joking. “But seriously, you could have at least called, I had to work extra yesterday because you weren’t here.” 

“Sorry about that. Anytime you need to get out of work, I’ll work an extra shift for you then,” I responded. She smiled. 

“Deal.” I picked up my name tag, which just read “Keith” and had a red heart drawn on it—that was Romelle’s doing. I flipped the sign on the door to “open,” and walked behind the desk. I noticed a box underneath it that was filled with Christmas decorations. Romelle must have noticed my confused look, because she walked over and picked up the box. 

“Oh, right, you weren’t here yesterday. Allura wanted us to decorate the store since Christmas is coming up soon,” she told me. “We didn’t have any decorations, so I went out and bought some!”

I looked through the box. I actually enjoyed decorating for Christmas. It was really one of the only parts I liked about it, aside from being off of school. I wasn’t going to tell anyone, but I really hated Christmas all together. Ever since my dad died, it’s just been a depressing time. I was pulled out of my thoughts when the door opened, and a customer walked in. I shoved the box under the counter as Romelle greeted them with a smile on her face. 

 

_ Meanwhile, at Hunk’s house…  _

 

I was confused. 

It was the morning after Keith crashed, and Lance and I had slept over at Hunk’s that night. The three of us were walking to a café for breakfast, when we saw it. 

“Hey guys, hold on. Isn’t that Keith’s motorcycle?” Hunk said, pointing across the street. 

“What? That can’t be right. He said he crashed it, didn’t he?” Lance replied. I looked over at where Hunk was pointing, and sure enough, it  _ was _ Keith’s motorcycle. I walked over to it, followed by Hunk and Lance. The bike didn’t have a single scratch.  _ But, why would Keith lie to us? _

“He’s hiding something,” I whispered to myself as I looked at the vehicle. 

“What do you mean?” Lance asked. 

“Well, it’s obvious. Keith told us he crashed his motorcycle, right into a window. But, now we find it parked on the street, and without a scratch. He couldn’t have crashed it. He lied to us.” 

“Oh.” Lance had a sad expression on his face, but but it disappeared after a second. 

“Hey, Pidge, come look at this,” Hunk told me. He was near a bush just by the entrance of the park, holding a piece of cloth that seemed to be a shirt. “Isn’t this Keith’s shirt?” 

I walked over and Hunk showed me the shirt. It was definitely Keith’s; it was a plain black shirt that had the words “I want to believe” printed on the front.  _ What… what was Keith hiding? _

“Ok, this makes no sense. This is suggesting he parked his motorcycle here, took off his shirt, threw it in a bush, and then somehow got all those cuts?” Lance said as he rubbed his head. “There’s got to be another explanation… right?” 

“I don’t know. I’m just as confused as you are. This doesn’t make any sense.” I stuffed the shirt in my bag. “But, we need to find out why Keith lied to us, and what he’s hiding.” 


	7. Snowball Fight!

I scanned the numbers on the houses as Shiro and I drove down the street, looking for the right one. Once we arrived at the house, we parked, walked to the front door, and rang the bell. Soon the door opened, and we were greeted by a man with ginger hair and a large mustache. 

“Oh, Keith! And Shiro! Allura told me you two would be coming. Come in, come in!” The man said, very enthusiastically. We entered the house to see that Shiro and I were the last ones to arrive. Lance and Pidge appeared to be playing video games while Matt watched them intensely, Allura was in the kitchen cooking something, and Hunk was chatting with her, and also tasting whatever it was she was making. 

Allura smiled when she saw Shiro and I, and walked over to us. 

“Hello! Glad you two could make it,” Allura said as she hugged Shiro. See, Allura seemed to know everyone. She was Shiro’s ex-girlfriend(they broke up when Shiro realized he was gay, but they were still close friends), Pidge knew her from her brother, she was a frequent customer at the café Hunk worked at, and I assumed Lance just tagged along with Hunk. And me, I knew her from Shiro, but also because she was the manager for the Blick store I worked at. 

I walked over to where Hunk was tasting the food and picked up a cookie. 

“Hey, Hunk,” I said. 

“Oh, hey Keith,” Hunk replied, but his voice was muffled because he was eating a cookie at the moment. I started to walk towards the living room, but Hunk stopped me. 

“Oh, also, did you see that news article about a monster in the square the other day? Cause, I mean, that’s where you were, so Pidge, Lance, and I were just wondering if you might’ve seen anything… strange?” Hunk asked me, putting on a smile and a glimmer in his eyes. It had been four days since my near-sighting, and I had really hoped no one would ask me about it.  _ I guess that plan failed.  _

“I– uh, no. I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Sorry.” I hoped my coverup worked. Clearly, I wasn’t very good at lying. I walked into the other room to avoid any further questions. Lance and Pidge appeared to be having a  _ very _ intense battle in some video game. I didn’t recognise it, but it looked like some sort of fighting game. Matt was standing behind the couch(well, leaning on the back), and was cheering on one of the two players. Pidge, I presumed. I sat on the leg of the couch, my legs were propped up in front of me, and I leaned sideways on the back of the couch. 

Lance appeared to be concentrating extremely hard; Pidge on the other hand was easily defeating him. A red “GAME OVER” sign flashed across the screen. 

“YES! Ha!” Pidge celebrated as she high-fived Matt. “You lost, Lance. Pay up,” The teen said, a smirk on her face. Lance made a sound of defeat, but handed Pidge ten dollars nonetheless. 

“Fine. But next time, I will win.” 

“ _ Sure _ ,” Pidge responded sarcastically. 

“What was the money for?” I asked them. 

“We just bet on who would win,” Lance said, grumpily. He was clearly angry about losing, even though it wasn’t really that big of a deal. Matt and Pidge started a new game, and then Lance turned to me. 

“So, Keith, I heard there was a strange creature near where you were the other day. Did you–” I cut him off before he could finish. 

“ _ No _ , I didn’t see anything strange. Why do people keep asking me that?! It was just a normal day, nothing out of the ordinary!” I walked over to talk to Allura and Shiro. Though as I turned, I saw a hurt look on Lance’s face. 

 

Soon, the nine of us grew bored and made our way to a small park that was nearby. There was at least ten inches of snow on the ground, and we were all bundled in thick winter jackets, hats, gloves, and scarves. It was starting to get closer to Christmas, so there were lights on the trees, buildings, signs, and pretty much all over the city. (Then of course it was daytime, so the lights were off. But some places had more other things such as wreaths or bows.) We all sat down at a picnic table, the only one that wasn’t covered in snow. 

“Okay,” Shiro began, “We should figure out what we want to do. Since there is so much snow, there isn’t very much to do, but we should be able to think of something– such as shopping or maybe just going to a café. What do you guys–” Shiro was cut off as a snowball suddenly hit the back of his head. “Wha–!” he stammered. 

“Oh, sorry, Shiro,” Lance said, holding back laughter. “I was trying to hit Keith.” At that, I picked up some snow, rolled it into a ball, and threw it at Lance. It hit him in the face, and I chuckled. 

“Heh, like that?” I said. I had to admit, there was a bit of a flirty tone in my voice. Lance stood still, his eyes wide, and gaping until he shook the snow off his head. He then smirked, his eyebrows furrowed. 

“You’ve just made a big mistake, Keith,” Lance said as he picked up some snow. 

“YES! Snowball fight!!!” Hunk shouted suddenly, two large snowballs already in his hands. He chucked one at Pidge, and the other at Romelle, who had just recently joined us. (Coran was her uncle, and he was a good friend of Allura’s father, who had passed away some years ago.) This ensued a very intense fight; between everyone except for Shiro. At least, at first. 

“All right, guys,” Shiro said, trying to stop the fight, but just ended getting many snowballs thrown at him. One hit him in the face, and then I think he probably had enough. 

“Oh– oh! Okay, now, it’s on!” He shouted, and threw a snowball straight at me. I dodged it. (Always being the victim in high school dodgeball ended up being useful for something after all.) We continued chucking snowballs at each other; even Coran joined. 

“Oh, come on!” Lance shouted as another snowball hit him in the head. By now, his hair almost seemed white because of the amount of snow on it(then again, mine did as well). 

After almost half an hour of the snowball fight, we calmed down. Everyone was wet, covered in snow, and freezing cold(The winter jackets weren’t so useful anymore). We decided to go to the café, which happened to be nearby. Everyone ordered a coffee or hot chocolate of some kind; anything hot since we were so cold. We proceeded to walk back to Allura’s house, and hung out in front of the fireplace. 

“Well, that was fun,” Lance said as he wrapped himself in a blanket. 

“Yeah, it was,” I said, sitting down next to him with two mugs of hot chocolate. I handed him one of them, and he took it gladly. 

“Shiro, you and Keith are traveling during Christmas, correct?” Allura asked. 

“Yes, we’re visiting Krolia,” Shiro responded. 

“We’re leaving the 22nd,” I added. Every year during Christmas, Shiro and I would visit our mother, Krolia, in Arizona. I loved seeing her, especially since she was the only other person who knew about my secret. I could talk about anything with her, which was good because there has been a  _ lot _ on my mind lately. 

We spent a few more hours at Allura’s, then went home. That night, I sat on the couch bundled in blankets and pillows, doing some school work until I picked up my sketchbook. I didn’t have a plan of what I wanted to draw, just let my mind go wild. What I finished with was something I hadn’t expected to draw, but was pleased with nonetheless. On the page was a profile drawing of Lance, but with white hair, elf ears, and V-shaped markings under his eyes. I drew flowers and stars around him, then looked at the drawing. I smiled, added one more detail, then turned to a blank page. 


	8. Painted Oceans

Two days later, I found myself walking to the studio I used to go to all the time. (I was off of school since Christmas was so near, so I had the whole day free.) I hadn’t been there in a few months, but as I walked in, I was still greeted with a smile.

“Keith Kogane! I haven’t seen you in forever,” Lotor said when he saw me, his English accent slipping through. He was an old friend— we used to draw together all the time. He had long, platinum white hair that was currently tied back in a messy bun. A single strand was still over his face like always, though. He was working at a canvas, paintbrush in hand, and had paint splatters all over his arms, body, and face.

“Hey, Lotor,” I replied. “Long time no see.” I walked up to him, and we did our signature handshake we had invented when we were kids.

“What brings you here? You ditched us for a little bit.”

“Yeah, I guess I just needed to get away from the apartment,” I told him. I set my bag down on a table, and as I did two girls walked into the room. They smiled when they saw me.

“Keith! Hi! It’s good to see you!” One of them said excitedly.

“Oh, hey Ezor,” I said as she hugged me. Her name was Esadora, but she preferred to be called Ezor— or sometimes Ezzie. Behind her was her girlfriend Zephyrine, or Zethrid. Both of them came here for art; Ezor practiced singing and acting two floors down, and Zethrid was amazing at digital painting. We talked for a few minutes until they left the room to go to the bottom floor.

I took my sketchbook and various pencils/pens and sat down at one of the large tables near the windows. The room’s layout was like so: There were huge windows making up three of the walls, so that as much natural light as possible could be let in. The room itself held many easels, canvases laid against the walls, and a sink in the far corner to wash brushes, palettes, etc. In one corner of the room were some drawing desks; this is where I was seated currently. Lotor stood at an easel nearby. I started skimming through my sketchbook, looking at the drawings one by one, while also thinking about inspiration. I landed on the very last page I had drawn on, the drawing of Lance. I ran my hand down the smooth paper. I contemplated finishing it and outlining or maybe even painting over with watercolors, but then just decided to turn the page and start new. But apparently, I didn’t turn the page soon enough.

“Who was that?” Lotor asked me with a smirk on his face. I stiffened, and tried to hide the blush on my face.

“It was no one,” I said, “Just a random person…” Lotor looked at me with a straight face, and lifted an eyebrow. The strand of hair in front of his face swayed when he sighed.

“Come on, Keith, I know as well as you that that person is 100% real. You wouldn’t have drawn their profile like that if not,” He told me.

I sighed. “Fine. He’s real. But you can’t tell anyone.”

“Who would I tell? It’s not like I know him,” Lotor replied. “But, I am curious as to what his name is,” He added with a smirk. I hesitated, then sighed again.

“His name is Lance,” I told him. “Do you remember when I went to Cuba that one year? Yeah, well, that’s where I met him. During that trip. Then, like a week or so ago, my friend Hunk introduced us to his new roommate, and turns out that it’s Lance. He’s been spending a lot of time with my friends and I, and I guess I’ve grown to like him. _As a friend._ ” I specified on that last part so that Lotor wouldn’t get the wrong idea, although I think he already did.

“Mmm hm, sure,” Lotor said as he continued painting. I rolled my eyes, and searched through my bag until I picked up a pad of watercolor paper. I pulled one out, and set up the rest of my workspace. Once I was done, and sitting down, tapping the paintbrush against my head as I thought of what to paint, Lotor spoke to me again.

“What’re you going to paint?” Lotor asked me, glancing over at me.

“I’m not sure yet, but I’ll think of something,” I responded. Lotor smirked, which caused me to wonder what he was thinking. He picked up my sketchbook, and before I could steal it back, he set it back down on the table. I glanced over at the drawing he’d picked. It wasn’t ideal, but I hadn’t exactly come here to paint a masterpiece. Just to relax. So, I dipped my brush in the water, swatched a color, and began painting. I slid on headphones, and music filled my mind as I worked.

Later, at whatever time it was, I found myself sitting back as I admired my work and added any finishing touches. A few months ago I had bought a metallic silver watercolor paint; so I was adding some of that wherever it felt needed.

I wasn’t entirely sure what had come out of all that time I spent painting. The drawing Lotor had showed me for reference was something I had drawn months ago; a sketch of a mermaid, who was exploring coral reefs under the sea. But what Lotor had also done was show me the drawing I had done of Lance. He’d told me to mix the two; and that’s almost what I’d done. What I had painted was what resembled a glimmering ocean, and a sky of stars above it which shone on the water. Near the bottom of the painting, was where I incorporated Lotor’s suggestion. There he was, a merman as blue as a sapphire, whose scales shone from the metallic paint. From a distance, he appeared to be just any merman, but if you looked closer you could see the details in his face. He had pointed ears that were covered in blue scales at the tips, sparkling blue eyes, and bright blue freckles that I had painted so small you could barely tell they were there. But, if the painting was shone under a light, every star, scale, and sparkle in the painting shone bright. I guess it _could_ resemble Lance, but I hadn’t really meant to do that. Now that I decided it was finished, I did what(in my opinion) was the most satisfying part of using watercolors; peeling off the masking tape around the edges. It formed an almost-perfect border– save for a few spots where the paint soaked through.

Lotor had finished what he was painting a little bit ago, and had placed his painting leaning against the wall to dry. He mainly used acrylic paint for his paintings; and it looked similar to many of the ones he’d created in the past. They were all sort of self portraits; or at least included some small detail that could resemble himself. Sometimes he painted Allura too; he’d been in love with her for some time(she didn’t know it), but had never built up the courage to actually ask her out. The painting he’d done today was a snowy setting– like a mountain or something– but with a purple aurora above. Looking out to the aurora were the silhouettes of two people, presumably him and Allura. A few years ago Lotor had dreamed to take her to where they could see the auroras, since he had learned(from me) that she loved beautiful views, skies, and, specifically, auroras.

Lotor was now sketching something in a sketchbook, and glanced up at me when I stood up and stretched.

“What did you end up doing?” He asked me. (As he walked over and looked at my painting.)

“Well, I didn’t have any other inspiration, so I did what you told me. This is what came out of it.”

“That’s good,” Lotor said, “Now you have something to give him for Christmas.” My face went red, from anger and embarrassment.

“What?! Wh- Why on Earth would I give him a gift?!” I stammered. “I- I won't even be here.” Lotor sighed, then smiled.

“Then give it to him _before_ , idiot.”

“Absolutely not. It’s creepy to give someone you barely know a painting of themselves,” I argued.

Lotor was about to respond when the door to the room opened. Who entered was also a friend who I hadn’t seen in a long time; Axca. Her short black hair was pinned back with four black clips; two on either side of her head, and the left side of her face was hidden by long bangs.

“Axca!” Lotor exclaimed with a smile, “What brings you here?”

“This guy was lost and looking for Keith,” Axca said, and gestured to the person behind her. She then turned around and left the room. Internally, I gasped. It was _Lance_ . _What was he doing here?_

He put his hands in his pockets as he entered the room, looking around.

“What are _you_ doing here?!” I blurted out.

“Don’t you remember? We’re all having dinner together because you and Shiro aren’t going to be here for Christmas. He sent me here to remind you of that, cause it’s almost time,” Lance replied.   _Oh, right. I forgot about that._  

“Okay, fine. Just wait a second,” I said, starting to put my stuff back in my bag. While I did so, Lotor introduced himself to Lance.

“Hello. I’m Lotor. Pleased to meet you,” He said with an outstretched hand.

Lance took it, and replied with, “You too. I’m Lance.” Lotor’s expression showed a hint of surprise, and then he smiled. Lance looked around the room, and his eyes landed on Lotor’s painting.

“Woah, did you make that?!” He exclaimed.

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I did,” Lotor said, “And thank you. But you should also see what Keith made. I have to say, it looks amazing.”

“Sure. Where is it?” Lance responded, but then saw the piece of paper I was trying to hide with by body(and clearly not doing a very good job).

“Come on, Keith, let me see it! What is there to hide?” He said, trying to get behind me.   _Lots of things_ , I thought.

We had a little mini-battle to get the painting, and then Lance tickled my stomach, making me burst out laughing. He paused for a second, and I swear I could see a hint of blush on his face. But then, before I could get situated, he grabbed the drawing from my hands. He let out a small gasp, and showed a face of astonishment.

“Woah,” He finally said. I blushed.

“Can you give it back now?”

“No, hang on a second.” He tilted the paper to shine different ways in the light, as if looking at the metallic paint. He pointed to the merman at the bottom of the piece. “Is this supposed to be me?” My blush darkened.

“Wha– no, of course not! Or, well at least it wasn’t supposed to be…” I tried to explain.

“What do you mean, ‘wasn’t supposed to be?’ This looks exactly like me! Well, minus the tail and fins, of course,” He chuckled, “But really, it looks amazing.”

“Thanks,” I said as I reached to take it back. Lance didn’t give it up, so I glared at him.

“Lance, come on, give it back!”

He seemed to think for a second, then responded with, “Can I keep it?”

I paused. “Wha– ” I started, “Why?”

“Because it looks nice,” He said, “And it’s of me anyways.” _True…_

“Fine. You can keep it. Just don’t lose it. I spent time on that.”

“Don’t worry, _Mullet_ , I’ll take good care of it,” Lance said as he turned, “Also can we leave now?”

I shook my head and chuckled before slipping my bag over my shoulder, saying ‘bye’ to Lotor, and leaving the studio. I was still blushing as we walked out. 

 


	9. Needed Advice

It was early the 22nd that Shiro and I boarded a plane to Arizona to go home for Christmas. We arrived around noon, and then drove out to the house we had lived at when we were young. It was an average cabin located outside of Phoenix, on a large spot of land in the desert, surrounded by only cacti, small trees, and another house here and there. I looked out the window from the passenger seat as we drove to the house. Something about the desert had always calmed me, made me feel at peace. Must have been something to do with the fact that I had grown up here.

As we began to get closer, more and more memories of times long forgotten rushed into my head. As we drove up the street I had lived on, I remembered when I learned how to bike; all the times we had walked our dog, Kosmo; when he’d run around my ankles and almost trip me everytime. We finally drove up to the house; an average-sized wooden house, that had a porch and rocking chairs in the front. It also had a brick chimney; and a small wooden shack to the right of it. Surrounding the house was desert and cacti; there was a single tree which held a tire swing, old and falling apart. In the landscape all around were the orange-red hills and cliffs that I had grown up exploring. As we pulled up to the house, I opened the door and ran out of the car. Shiro parked and followed behind me, a wide smile on his face. We knocked on the door, and a few moments later I heard the pitter-patter of feet, and a single bark. Then, the door opened, and I was knocked down Kosmo. 

“Hey, Kos!” I exclaimed as I hugged him and he licked my face. His fur was thick and long; as Kosmo was part wolf. We weren’t sure what the other part was. He had a slick black coat, and his back had a layer of grayish-blue fur. He had a white V-shaped marking on his chest, and another marking on his face that went around his eyes. I finally stood up when Kosmo decided to greet Shiro the same way(except Shiro didn’t fall over). 

Our mother, Krolia, stood in the doorway, smiling. She had black hair that was in a style similar to mine(but without the mullet, she had her long hair done in a braid instead), and the bottom of her hair was ‘dyed’ a light purple. 

“Keith! Shiro!” She said as she took me in her arms. “I’ve missed you two,” she said after hugging both of us, a smile on her face. 

“Yeah, I’ve missed you a lot too, Mom,” I said. And I really did. Krolia was the only person who knew about my secret– so I could talk to her about things I definitely could never talk about with anyone else. 

We entered the house, and the sweet smell of peppermint greeted us. Since she lived in Arizona, and there wasn’t any snow around for Christmas, Krolia always decorated the house with a few thousand Christmas decorations, which included lots of peppermint, cinnamon, and pine scented candles. Above the fireplace in the main living room four stockings were already set up; one for Krolia, one for me, one for Shiro, and even one that said “Kosmo” on it. Next to that was also a large Christmas tree, which had not been decorated yet, since Krolia enjoyed doing that with Shiro and I. Although there were a lot of boxes by it that held ornaments. 

“I was thinking you two would want to relax this afternoon? Since you woke up early and just got off a plane,” Krolia said. 

“We’re not kids anymore,” Shiro said, “We wake up early every day…Kind of. But yeah, I guess it would be nice to just hang out here for the day. Thanks, mom,” He finished(clearly tired though). I was already on my way to set my luggage upstairs, Kosmo right behind me. As I got upstairs, I turned the corner and opened the door to my old bedroom. Surprising enough, over the years Krolia hadn’t changed it a bit. There were still the band posters on the walls, the desk filled with old and used art supplies, even the pile of old books on the floor. Kosmo jumped on the bed and lay down, and I joined him. I stroked his soft fur while checking my phone, and watched some covers from a singer on Instagram I had recently found(and really liked; they were an amazing singer). 

\- - -

Later that night, we were decorating the tree, and Mom had put on some Christmas music to listen to. Currently, “Jingle Bell Rock” was playing, and Shiro had put tinsel around his neck and a hat that had reindeer horns(with Christmas lights) on it. He was singing and dancing along to the song, acting like a complete idiot. But, I can’t say much because I soon gave in and joined him. By the time the next song came on(which was Feliz Navidad), we were all dancing along, putting on hats and tinsel scarves, and definitely looking very stupid doing it. We continued to dance to songs, and after that made Christmas cookies(which did get a little burnt…Although Shiro’s batch turned out the worst; almost completely black). After some time we had eaten our fair share of cookies, had plenty cups of apple cider, and finally became tired of dancing. Shiro was sound asleep on the couch, and Krolia had shoved all of the decorations into the far corner of the room. Meanwhile, I put a red bowtie on Kosmo and was taking plenty of pictures of him. It wasn’t even Christmas Eve, and yet we had gotten really celebratory(and crazy) while decorating the tree.

Later I went outside and sat on the patio with Kosmo, looking at the stars. Krolia came out and sat down next to me, putting her hand on my shoulder. 

“Hey,” She said. “How are you? You seem sad…” 

“I’m fine. Just tired,” I responded, which was a lie. My mind was spinning, going back and forth between two main things that were stressing me out.

“Keith. You can talk to me, you know. What’s the problem?” 

“Nothing. Just… I guess I’m just a bit stressed about something that happened last week,” I told her.

“What happened?” Krolia answered. 

I turned my head to face her, and sighed. “Okay, fine. Well, I was out flying, because I had some free time and needed to get some energy. I was careful to not be seen, like usual. But then…” I said, looking away. “I was sitting on a roof when some people came walking down the street. I crawled onto the other side of the roof to avoid them, but then slipped on ice and fell off. Someone on the other street saw me, yelled out, and ran after me. The only thing I could think of doing was to fly away. I wasn’t looking where I was going, because then I crashed into some stained glass mural on the side of a wall. And this happened.” I proceeded to pull my shirt down to show the cut on my shoulder I had gotten from that day, which was still healing, and probably would eventually turn into a scar. Most of the others had healed, or scarred over, and I now had a lot of small scars on my stomach and arms. Krolia gasped when she saw the cut. 

“Keith—” She began, but I cut her off. 

“And then the next day there was a story on the news about it. Apparently the person who saw me had taken a picture, but it was blurry because I moved, so all that showed was a purple blur that looked like it had wings,” I said, but then added one more thing. “And… and they were calling me a  _ monster _ . I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to never be able to transform again, but I also don’t want to get caught. Everywhere I go… it’s become a habit to check my surroundings all the time even when I’m not transformed, because I’m so paranoid that somehow people will know.” My breath was now stammering, and my heartbeat quickened. 

At that moment Krolia hugged me. I just stayed still, trying to regulate my breathing. 

“Keith… Don’t worry. You don’t have to be afraid of things that aren’t there. The same thing happened to me, years ago… and I acted just how you’re acting now. But then, after some time, everyone forgot about it, and I could walk around freely again without being worried of being seen,” Krolia told me. She wasn’t great at comforting people, but neither was I.

“Y- yeah,” I said, “You’re right.” 

The reason Krolia said that the same thing happened to her was because she also had a strange ability like me; except she didn’t have wings, or fluffy ears. Instead, she could turn her skin purple, along with elf-like ears and two darker stripes on her cheeks. And, like me, her eyes turned yellow, and teeth into fangs. The part of her hair that was purple also wasn’t dyed— it was naturally that color. A V-shaped mark on the back of her neck(that she told people was a tattoo) was what extended when she transformed to make the stripes on her cheeks. It was just a strange trait that ran in our family, Krolia had told me. When I was a kid I liked to think I was part alien. That sometime, a long time ago, an alien came to Earth, and maybe fell in love with one of my ancestors, or something like that. Of course, I didn’t think that anymore. 

We sat in silence for a little until finally Krolia spoke up. “How is college going?” She asked me, clearly trying to switch subjects, and lighten the mood. 

“It’s okay,” I responded. 

“Shiro told me something while you were hiding away in your room. He said that a boy was living with Hunk to go to school here. Something about him noticing that your face was bright red when you met him?” 

_ Shiro said that?!  _ “I’m going to kill him,” I muttered under my breath. 

“Keith.” I looked up at her. 

“Fine. Hunk did get a roommate, who happens to be that boy I met in Cuba, Lance. He’s really nice, but it seems to me that he doesn’t like me very much.” 

“How so?”

“Well, he keeps calling me Mullet, for starters. He also seems to have made a sort of rivalry between us, if you want to call it that. Half the time we’re friends, and the other half he’s fighting with me. I don’t know what to think anymore.” 

Krolia sighed. “What about you? How do you feel around him?”

“Why do you keep asking me how I feel?!” I didn’t particularly like talking about my feelings. Usually just kept to myself. 

“Because I want you to open up, Keith. You never talk to me. I  _ can _ offer good advice, you know. And I also know that there’s more to this then you’re telling me.” 

“Okay, I’ll tell,” I said.  _ It’s not like I have anyone else to go to. _ I was also getting a little agitated. “You keep implying that you think I like him. Which I do not! Yes, he is nice, and yes, he’s cute, and yes, I just  _ might  _ get butterflies whenever I talk to him,  _ but _ that doesn’t mean I can date him! He’s straight, anyways!” I blurted out. Soon after I realized what I had said, and my face went pale.  _ Oh no… I couldn’t… I don’t like Lance! Of all people… No, it can’t be right. I don’t—  _ I kept thinking this to convince myself so that I wouldn’t have to go through getting my heart broken. 

Krolia looked at me, surprised I’d even spoken up. She’d finally gotten something out of me. She smiled. 

“Well… I didn’t expect  _ that _ much. Is that how you really feel?” 

I opened my mouth, but then paused before saying anything. I really didn’t know anymore. I guess it would explain why I keep drawing him, or why I blush when he teases me. But, it was hopeless. He was  _ definitely _ straight, I was sure of it. I’ve seen him flirting with girls countless times.  _ He didn’t like boys.  _

“....Possibly,” I finally answered. “But it doesn’t really matter. I can’t tell him anyways. He’s straight.” 

“Are you one hundred percent sure?” 

“Well, no, but he has to be! I’ve seen him flirting with girls countless times!” I then looked up at Krolia. “Why do you even keep asking me about relationships? It’s strange…” 

“Because I want you to be happy Keith. I don’t want you to be living in fear your whole life. And about this Lance you’re talking about; it’s the same as what we talked about earlier. You can’t let fear stand in your way. You could lose the chance that could change your life.” 

I stood still, thinking about that, and smiled. 

“Yeah, I guess I could give it a try. Thanks Mom,” I said as I stood up to go to bed. It was late, and I had a lot to think about. 


	10. Homesick

_ (Lance’s POV)  _

I woke to a sweet smell coming from downstairs, and a bright light streaming in through the window. I squinted, and pulled the blanket over my head. After a few moments of trying to fall back asleep, my stomach growled.  _ Fine, I’ll get up. _ Then, as I pulled the blanket off me, I realized just how cold it was in the room. I quickly put on a shirt, and sleepily stumbled into the bathroom across the hall. I did my usual morning skincare routine, then walked downstairs, becoming more awake as the delicious smell of cookies filled the house. _ And was that hot chocolate _ ? _! _ I entered the kitchen to see Hunk working hard, and a fresh batch of cookies sitting on the counter. 

“Oh my god, Hunk, I can’t believe you made cookies for me!” I said in the happiest tone I could muster at this time, in order to ensure I got one. They were most likely not for me of course, but the Christmas party we were having tonight. 

Hunk laughed, “Come on Lance, you know these aren’t all for you, they’re for the party. But I did make a few extra…” 

I picked up a cookie off of the tray sitting on the counter, and wrapped my arms around my friend. “Thanks Hunk, you’re the best.” As I took a bite of the heavenly cookie(Hunk’s were literally the best cookies I’ve ever had), there was a loud knock on the door, followed by three rings of the doorbell. I sighed, and opened the door to see Pidge standing there, along with Matt behind her. She looked very tired and held a cup of coffee. I gave them a confused look, as to why her and Matt were here this early. 

“Hunk told us to come. No idea why,” Pidge responded to my look as she walked in past me. Matt shrugged and followed behind her. Pidge grabbed three cookies; and handed one to Matt. Hit face lit up when he took a bite of it. 

“Wow, these are the best cookies I’ve ever tasted! They’re amazing!” He exclaimed. 

“Hunk’s secret recipe. He won't even tell me,” I said. 

“Yeah, and it’ll stay that way. Anyways, glad you like them. I was going to serve them at the party tonight,” Hunk said. He also placed four cups of hot chocolate on the counter. I smiled when I tasted it, it was delicious! I could also taste a hint of dulce de leche in it. Perfect. 

“I’m going to need to buy a few things for the party, and need Pidge and Matt’s help, that’s why I invited you guys here,” Hunk said. 

“What do you need their help for that I can’t help with?” I responded. 

“It’s technology-related. You wouldn’t want to help, Lance.” 

“Oh.” I would never admit it, but I was a little hurt that they hadn’t even considered I’d want to help with whatever this was. Which I didn’t, but I was still curious as to what it was. 

“Ok, I’ll help, but you owe me. Just for the future,” Pidge said. She was also pouring her coffee into the hot chocolate.  _ Typical Pidge _ . 

Soon Hunk, Matt, and Pidge were on their way out. Matt saluted to me as they left, and the door closed behind them. Great. Now what was I supposed to do for the rest of the day? I sneaked a few more cookies before going back upstairs to get dressed. Only when I was about to leave did I think to look outside, and I saw the layer of snow that covered everything. I quickly pulled on my jacket, gloves, hat, and scarf(I got cold easily) and ran outside. I put out my hand, catching some snowflakes in it. The snow was beautiful, how it made everything sparkle, and was untouched in most places as it was early in the morning. It wasn’t my first time seeing snow of course, I had seen it many times before, just that it was my very first Christmas that had snow. (It was Christmas Eve today, but that technically counted, right? I mean, we were celebrating today.) I looked around, and then decided I would check if the café was open. As I walk through the streets, it begins to dawn on me that it’s also the first Christmas I have to spend away from my family. I choose to ignore that feeling for now, though, as I approach the café. I’m not surprised; it’s closed. 

I then find myself walking to the small park nearby. It’s quiet, and the snow there is completely untouched by anyone. I sit down on one of the benches under a tree after brushing the snow off. It’s peaceful here. I can think without being interrupted by anyone. I think I’m going to find myself coming back here.

I start thinking about my family; what we would be doing now if I was back in Cuba. First, I would have woken up to my younger siblings excited because it is so close to Christmas. My mom would be cooking breakfast, and my older sister Veronica would be beating all of my older brothers and cousins at some video game(and they would be getting angry at her). Soon my uncle and aunt would arrive, along with their kids, and my older sister and her husband, along with their kid. Geez, now thinking about it, I  _ did _ have a really big family. And that was only the people who came every year. I guess I was just used to it, so it never dawned on me that I wouldn’t be with them. I was starting to miss seeing all of my cousins, and even my siblings who could annoy me so much, but I still loved them of course. I… I now realized how much I missed being with my family, how that empty feeling I felt the past few days was actually  _ homesickness _ . 

I tried calling the house, to see if maybe they would answer. No luck. So, I left a message. 

“Hola Mamá, I hope you’re having a good Christmas so far. Things are great here, and there’s even snow! But, I do really miss you guys. I- I miss home…. anyways I hope I can talk to you later,” I said into the phone, my breath becoming less steady. A lump started in my throat, and a single tear went down my cheek.  _ No…  _ I didn’t want to be miserable today. I couldn’t be. I turned on some music, stood up, and continued wandering around.  

\- - -

 

Later that night, the party Hunk, Pidge, and I held had begun. There weren’t really a lot people there; most were friends of Hunk or Pidge. Some had come with those friends, such as some girl named Nyma who Matt had brought. Also, that guy I had met with Keith, Lotor, had come, along with three girls. The party had been going on for a few hours now, and Hunk had been cooking food for it the whole day. Now, there were tables of snacks, appetizers, and even a small buffet for dinner. Guests were chatting, some watching a movie that was playing on the TV, and some playing various games on Matt’s Nintendo Switch he had brought and hooked up. I had met a lot of people, and beat most of them in Just Dance(and Mario Kart). Although it was fun, the whole party I still felt a pang of homesickness. That’s how I found myself walking upstairs to my bedroom. Why did I feel this way? Parties usually cheered me up! But, I just couldn’t ignore the pain in my chest longing to go home. I sat down on my bed, eating one of Hunk’s cinnamon cookies, thinking. 

I needed to talk to someone. Anyone. 

I thought about who I could talk to. Anyone here was a huge no; I would hate to ruin their night. But, other than these people, I didn’t really know anyone else.  _ Wait! There is someone, _ I suddenly realized. I turned on my phone and scrolled through my contacts, until I landed on the name I was looking for.  _ But… would they want to talk to me? Is it weird for me to suddenly talk to him about all my problems? I don’t know him very well.  _ Through all my denial, I still ended up clicking the button to FaceTime him. The phone rang. And rang. Finally, someone answered. 

“Hello?” He asked. He looked quite tired; even though it was only 7 pm where he was. “Lance, why are you calling me?” He appeared to be in a bedroom, that had many band posters on the wall behind him. On his lap was a very fluffy dog, that also very closely resembled a wolf. 

“When did you get a dog?” I asked, not answering his question. “Also, what’s with all of the emo band posters?” 

“Well, one, they are from when I was a teenager, and two, they aren’t emo!” He responded, “And I’ve always had a dog, he just lives at my mom’s house because I couldn’t take him to college. His name’s Kosmo.” 

“Oh, cool,” I told him, “He’s really cute.” 

“Anyways,” Keith said, shaking his head, “Why are you calling me again?” 

“Oh, uh... nothing, I guess I just really needed to talk to someone.”

“Must really be bothering you if you’re coming to talk to me,” Keith said, a small smile on his face. 

“Well, I mean I didn’t really have anyone else to talk to, and you’ll listen, right?” 

“I guess.” 

I took a deep breath. “You ever notice how far the countries are from each other, Keith?”  

He looked confused. “Yes, of course. Haven’t you been paying attention?”  

“Yeah, but I mean, like they’re really far away. Like, say Cuba. It’s so far, I can’t even see it.” I took a breath, and shuddered. “The… the blue oceans, the white clouds, green grass… I-I- I can’t see any of it.  I know I chose to leave to go to college, and study here or whatever, but honestly? I just wanna go home.” I hadn’t noticed that while saying that I’d started crying. 

“Lance…” Keith said. It was clear he wasn’t expecting that, and didn’t really know what to say.

He took a deep breath. “You miss Cuba, I understand. When I was younger I missed my home too.” 

“Wait… you missed home? I thought you grew up in Arizona with your mom.” 

“Well, I did. But there was a time—” Keith’s eyes seemed distant for a second, but then he shook his head. “Nevermind. I’m supposed to be comforting  _ you _ , remember?” He smiled a little. I could swear I saw a bit of blush on his cheeks, but maybe the lighting was just bad.  _ Yeah, that had to be it. _

“Ha, yeah you’re right.” I smiled. Of course I still felt homesick, but Keith had managed to actually cheer me up well. At least, for now. “So… what have you done today?” I asked him. He went on to say that he hadn’t done much today, but last night he, Shiro, and their mom had listened to Christmas songs and decorated their tree. It reminded me of what I would do with my family. But, talking to Keith kept me distracted from it; it was really nice talking with him actually. We ended up talking for some more time, and then I even kept FaceTiming him when I joined the party again. 


	11. Crimson Flowers

(Keith’s POV)

 

I was at work a few days later, after Shiro and I had returned from Arizona the day before. The shop was fairly quiet today, with only a few customers since I had arrived at 10:00. It was now 1:15. I was finishing up some sketches of the desert when my phone buzzed, and it said I had a text from Pidge. It read:  _ Meet me at the café in 15 minutes. _ That was it. I was confused, but complied anyways. 

“Hey, Romelle, can you watch the shop for a little? Pidge wants me to meet her at the café. I’m not sure why, but it shouldn’t take too long,” I told Romelle, who was in the front of the shop watering a plant we had in the window. 

“Yeah, that’s fine,” She said, turning towards me, “But then that’s two shifts that you owe me.” 

“Ok. Deal,” I responded as I put on my scarf opened the door to leave. “Thanks!” 

There was still snow on the ground from Christmas, and it was also supposed to snow again sometime today. I walked to my motorcycle while thinking about what Pidge could possibly want to meet me for. The ride to the café was short; it was only a few blocks away. As I entered I saw Pidge sitting at one of the tables, Lance next to her. He was wearing a grey-purple sweater, and had a fluffy grey scarf around his neck. Slung over his back was a guitar.  _ I wonder why he had that. _

“Keith, hey!” Lance exclaimed when I walked over to their table, “I haven’t seen you since you got back.” 

“Hey, Lance,” I said, smiling, but then turned to Pidge. “Pidge… why exactly did you tell me to come here? I was working; now I owe Romelle  _ another _ shift.” 

“I brought you two here because I need your help with something. Now come on,” She said, standing up and waving a hand for us to follow her. She brought us to a car, that I think was Matt’s, and told us to get inside. She then drove us to her house. I only grew more confused when she lead us to their backyard, but then continued to lead us behind it, through I secret path I hadn’t known was there. That path took us to a clearing. I stopped, and looked around to figure out where we were. There were lots of trees surrounding the clearing, they didn’t have any leaves of course, and were covered with snow. There was a short stone wall in the back of the clearing; and above that some white Christmas lights hung from the trees. There was also a small shed in one corner, and a picnic blanket on the ground by the wall. But, the most noticeable thing in the clearing were these plants that held large, crimson red flowers. The area was full of them. As we entered the clearing, I saw Lance brush his hand against one of the flowers; he also looked confused. Pidge was walking towards the shed, so we followed her.

“What is this place?” I asked. I had been to Pidge’s house many times, and never did she show us this. 

“ _ This place _ is were I keep all of my projects that I don't want Matt or my family to mess with.” Pidge opened the shed, and inside were various robots, computers, and other technology that wasn’t completed. The inside of the shed looked a lot bigger than the outside; there were a  _ lot _ of things in there. Pidge picked up a pyramid-looking thing, that had a triangle camera in the front and various designs on each side. Lance and I continued to look at everything that was in there; there were just so many projects. Then, we heard something move, and saw two ears poke up from a box on a high shelf. I looked at Lance, confused. He was clearly as confused as I was when those two ears turned out to be a cat, that climbed out of the box and jumped down to the ground. Behind it, two more cats popped up from the shelf, and followed Pidge out to the area by the stone wall. Pidge sat on the wall; two of the cats jumped up on it as well. 

“Where did these three cats come from?!” Lance asked Pidge, one of them rubbing his leg. 

“Well, I’m actually not sure,” Pidge responded, “They just showed up one day. Since it’s too cold outside for them, I’ve been letting them live in the shed until I figure out who owns them.” One cat was all black, with bright yellow eyes. The other one on the wall was entirely brown, and had a bow around its neck. The one following Lance was light grey, and had darker grey stripes along its back and head. 

“Do they have names?” Lance asked. 

“No. I never thought to name them,” Pidge said, “But you can name them if you want.” Lance smiled at that, and looked thoughtfully at the cats, trying to think of names. 

“Okay. This one is Pike,” He said, pointing to the brown one. Then, motioning to the grey cat, “And this one is Kaltenecker.” I couldn’t help but laugh at that. How had he even come up with that name?! 

“Hey! It’s a good name,” Lance said, acting hurt. 

“Okay, if you think so,” I said while laughing. I noticed he hadn’t name the black one. He was looking at it as if trying to come up with a good name. Then an idea popped into my mind. 

“Oh, hey! I’ve got a good name for him,” I said to Lance, “What about Thunderstorm Darkness?” The look on Lance’s face when I said that was priceless. 

He let out a loud laugh, followed by, “Wait, you’re serious?” When he said my face. “That name sounds worse than Kaltenecker.” 

I was about to respond when Pidge stopped me. “Okay, guys, the names are fine. We can all agree that you are both horrible at coming up with names.” 

“Fine. But I’m just calling him Thunder,” Lance said. Then, he sat down on the red picnic blanket in the snow. He pulled his guitar onto his lap. Kaltenecker laid down right next to him, not caring she was sitting on snow. I sat on the wall next to Pidge, and the other two cats. 

“So, Pidge, are you going to tell us why we’re here?” I asked her. She had a sly look on her face. 

“Oh, I just wanted to, uh… show you the drone I just finished,” Pidge said. She opened a panel on the pyramid robot she was holding, and clicked some buttons on the touch screen inside. The thing roared to life; and the four lighting bolt-looking lines lit up, as well as the camera. Pidge closed the panel, then did something unexpected; she threw the drone into the air. My first instinct was that to catch it; but I then stopped, as I knew Pidge wouldn’t throw it without a reason to. My question was soon answered— the drone stopped right before it hit the ground. It hovered in the air, making a few beeps and clicking sounds. 

“This is Rover,” Pidge said, admiring her work. “He’s a drone I’ve been working on for a long time, and finally finished.” 

“Woah! That’s so cool!” Lance said, reaching out to touch it. 

“Yeah, Pidge, I didn’t know you could make something like this. It’s awesome,” I said.

“Thanks,” Pidge responded, “I just have to make a few more adjustments and he’ll be complete.” She turned Rover off my clicking a button on the front camera, the drone’s “eye.” Then, I heard Lance strum a few chords on his guitar.

“Oh yeah, I meant to ask you, why do you have a guitar with you?” Pidge asked him. 

“I was practicing when you sent me the text to meet you. I just didn’t bother to put it away before I left,” Lance explained. He played a few more chords, and I perked up. I recognized the song, and was surprised Lance knew it. I expected him to start singing once he got to the part where the lyrics started. But, he didn’t. I looked at him with an expression that said, “why didn’t you continue?”

“My voice is...uh, a bit sore,” Lance said upon seeing my face. “Wait, how did you know I was going to sing? Do you know this song?” Then, he smiled. “Why don’t you sing, Keith?”  _ What? Definitely not.  _ I was a horrible singer. 

“Definitely not,” I said. “I can’t sing.” 

“Well I know Pidge isn’t going to, so you have to if you want me to keep playing.”

I hesitated. Then, gave in. “Fine.” Lance started strumming on his guitar again. I started very quietly, but Lance then nudged me to be louder. I took a deep breath; I didn’t like singing in front of people. But, nonetheless, I closed my eyes and started singing. 

“End of May or early June, this picture-perfect afternoon…we shared,” I started. “Drive the winding country road, grab a scoop at À La Mode… and then we're there.” I was about to start the next verse, and then Lance cut in. 

“An open field that's framed with trees, we pick a spot and shoot the breeze, like buddies do. Quoting songs by our favorite bands, telling jokes no one understands… except us two. And we talk,  and take in the view….” I stopped. Lance’s voice was amazing…. I could listen to him sing for forever. (Heh heh..) I began singing the chorus as Lance continued playing on his guitar.

“All we see is sky…. for forever, we let the world pass by… for forever, feels like we could go on, for forever this way…. two friends on a perfect day.” I looked over at Lance for a second and saw him gaping at me, a hint of blush on his face. Of course, my face got a bit red. 

“We walk awhile and talk about, the things we'll do when we get out… of school. Bike the Appalachian trail, or write a book, or learn to sail…. Wouldn't that be cool?” 

“There's nothing that we can't discuss, like girls we wish would notice us, but never… do,” Lance joined in. “He looks around and says to me, ‘There's nowhere else I'd rather be,’ and I say, ‘me too,’ …and we talk, and take in the view….We just talk and take in the view….

All we see is sky for forever, we let the world pass by for forever, feels like we could go on for forever this way, this way….” By now I had forgotten that Lance and Pidge were watching, I let myself get carried away and was singing passionately. 

“All we see is light for forever, ‘cause the sun shines bright for forever, like we'll be alright for forever this way…. Two friends on a perfect day….” Lance stopped playing when he hit that last chord. I looked at the two of them. Pidge and Lance were both staring at me with a surprised look on their faces.  _ I guess I was really that bad, huh? _ Finally, Lance said something. 

“Keith, that was amazing!! What do you mean you’re a terrible singer?! That was better than I could do!” 

“W-what?” I had not expected that.

“He’s right you know. Why didn’t you tell us you could sing?” Pidge asked me.

“Well… I always thought I was terrible. The only times I ever sing are when I’m alone, and I’ve just never been brave enough to do it in front of people… until now,” I responded. “Also, Lance, that was not better than you can do. Your voice was amazing. I could listen to it forever…” I hadn’t meant to say that last sentence. My face went red when I realized what I’d said. I think Lance’s did too, a little. 

“Well… thanks,” Lance said. A small smile appeared on his face, and I think I just ended up blushing more. I looked over at Pidge. She had a sly expression on her face; she was enjoying seeing me suffer. 

Lance just went back to playing his guitar, this time a tune I didn’t recognize. 

 

When I arrived home, it was dark outside. I entered the apartment in a great mood. 

“Shiro, you wouldn’t believe the day I had,” I started to say, but then noticed all of the lights were off, except for one small lamp by the couch. I saw Shiro sitting on the couch, hunched over. “Shiro?” I walked over to him, and saw that he was holding a photograph, but I couldn’t tell what was on it. It appeared as if he had been crying. “What’s wrong?” I said, sitting down next to him. He didn’t look at me, just continued to stare at the ground. 

“Matt and I broke up.” 

My eyes went wide. “Wh-what? Why?” Shiro’s breathing was unsteady. 

“I- I’m not sure. He- he said that it just wasn’t working out, that he’d fallen in love with someone else.”

“I’m so sorry Shiro,” I said, hugging him. We sat in silence for the rest of the night. 


	12. A New Year's Kiss...

_ …and The Start of a Disaster. _

\- - -

 

It was New Year’s Eve. Shiro and I were going hosting a party tonight, which was starting soon. It was of course Shiro’s idea, but I was excited for it.  _ Or maybe just anxious. _ I heard a knock on the door, and sat up from the couch to answer it. When I opened the door Hunk, Lance, and Pidge were behind it. I greeted them as my friends walked inside. Hunk went to the kitchen to help cook food; and Lance and Pidge sat down on the couch and watched what was already on. I glanced back over to the door, and noticed that someone else was also there. My eyebrows furrowed when I saw them, and my smile disappeared. 

“What are you doing here?” I asked Matt, although it sounded more like a statement. He looked uncomfortable, and maybe a bit scared as to what I could do to him. 

“Oh, hey, Keith… I just came because, well… because Pidge dragged me here. I understand if I’m not welcome, though…” Matt said, stumbling for words. His hair hid half of his face when he looked at the ground. 

“Matt?” Shiro suddenly said before I could answer. I turned around, and my brother had a hurt look on his face. That lasted only a second before his expression turned angry. “Well, you came all the way here. So, you can stay if you want,” he said in a bitter tone, then turned around and went back to cooking. Matt looked worried as he cautiously stepped in and sat down on the couch. I glared at him most of the time until the rest of the guests arrived, and the party begun(although there was a tense feeling in the room for a little while). First Romelle, Allura, and Coran arrived; then Lotor, Zethrid, Ezor, and Axca. Soon some college friends of ours arrived, named James, Ryan, Nadia, and Ina. Some friends of Shiro came, including one new co-worker named Adam who Shiro introduced me to. Lastly Hunk’s girlfriend Shay arrived, and also two friends of Pidge named Nyma and Rolo. Soon it was almost midnight, and everyone was eagerly waiting for the countdown. 

Some people were out on the balcony to see the fireworks when they started. I was looking out over the city until I glanced over and saw Allura, Pidge, and Lance talking in the corner. Allura whispered something to Lance; who preceded to look very surprised. Pidge had her typical “planning something” look on her face.  _ I wonder what they’re talking about. _

“It’s 11:59!” Someone suddenly shouted, and people gathered outside to countdown and see the fireworks. I looked out at the city.  _ My city.  _ I wished I could fly out to a skyscraper right now. 

“Hey,” I suddenly hear someone say beside me. I jump back, only to see Lance there. 

“O-oh, hi,” I said, startled. I hear people starting to countdown to midnight in the background. I became aware of this, then thought,  _ Why is Lance here? Doesn’t he want to kiss some girl at midnight?  _ The countdown was at three. Two…. one…. 

_ Wait— _

Then suddenly I feel Lance’s lips against my own. Fireworks exploded in the background, and in my heart. I felt my face redden. 

After a few seconds he pulled away. 

“Happy New Year, Keith,” Lance said sweetly, looking into my eyes.  _ Were his always that blue?  _ Then, as soon as it began, Lance turned on his heel and walked back to Allura, Pidge, and Hunk, leaving me flustered.  _ What was that?! Does he— _ I almost gasped out loud. Almost. Instead, I looked over at Lance, a blush clearly evident on my face. His back was turned to me, but he was talking, and Allura, Pidge, and Hunk were smiling. Allura must have seen me glancing her way, because she smiled and winked at me.  _ No, no, no, it can’t be. Lance must have just gotten dared to do it. Yes, that’s it. He /was/ whispering with Allura and Pidge earlier. And they also seemed pretty happy afterwards. That has to be it. Lance hasn’t showed any signs of liking me… right?  _ I found myself thinking like this for the rest of the night. 

It was incredibly awkward when he left, and I didn’t even care anymore that I was blushing, because I’m sure Lance was too. 

 

\- - -

 

Some days later, classes begun again, and I sat in an art history class early in the morning, bored. The teacher, Dr. Zarkon, was explaining something about the renaissance while I doodled in my notebook(and maybe took a few notes). Throughout the class, I continuously glanced up at him. Something was familiar about him, something that I couldn’t quite put my finger on… so I continued doodling, and thinking about where I could have seen him before. By the end of the class, I still hadn’t figured out where I knew him from. I had thought of any possible scenario, but nothing clicked. 

“You may be dismissed now,” I heard Dr. Zarkon say. His voice sounded very familiar. As I walked out of the room, I saw him looking at me strangely… as if he recognized me as well. I turned around, but then I heard a gasp behind me. I glanced over my shoulder, and Dr. Zarkon’s face showed one of surprise, and… anger. Then it hit me— when I was running away from that person a few weeks ago before I crashed… the person chasing me was Zarkon. I think he recognized me too, based on the look he gave me. I ran out of the building as quickly as possible, and sped home on my motorcycle. This was bad.  _ Really _ bad. 

When I arrive home, I see Shiro talking with his co-worker I met on New Year’s; Adam. They were probably talking about work….although I could also see a hint of blush on both their faces when I walked by… but I didn’t have time to think about that now. 

I sat down on my desk, and rubbed my head. This was a disaster… what if Dr. Zarkon tried to track me down? And if he did, what if he tried to capture me? He wouldn’t… right?! My heartbeat quickened, and I began pacing around the room. This was even worse than before. It was clear he recognized me, and he also could easily find out where I lived if he just got the information from the college. What if I put Shiro in danger?! Or any of my friends… I couldn’t bare it if someone I cared about got hurt because of me. What would they think when they found out my secret? I lay down on my bed and took some deep breaths, to try to calm myself down a little. I pulled my arms behind my head, and my hand brushed against a piece of paper. I picked it up, and gazed at the picture that was on it. It was the picture of Lance, holding his guitar while performing. His eyes were closed, and he was signing, yet there was also so much emotion in the photo. He seemed so happy there, and so at ease while I was laying here freaking out. The photo also reminded me of another thing; the kiss we shared on the New Year. I still had to talk to him about that, although whenever I thought about him my heartbeat quickened, my face grew red, and my hands were sweaty. I could only imagine how awkward that conversation would be. 

Suddenly I heard my phone buzz, and I picked it up off of my desk. It was a text from Hunk, to Pidge, Lance, and I. He said,  _ “Yeah! Omw,” _ which confused me, so I opened up my texts to see I had missed a text from Pidge as well. 

**Pidge: Do you guys want to hang out at the cafe sometime soon?**

**Hunk: Yeah! Omw**

**Pidge: Keith? Lance? You gays coming?**

**Pidge: *GUYS***

**Pidge: I MEAN GUYS**

I sighed, and typed in,  _ “Yeah, I’ll come. Could use a break.”  _ I put a beanie on my head(as my hair was a bit messed up from rubbing my head), and grabbed my bag from by the couch. I wasn’t surprised to see that Adam was still here; although I was a bit surprised to see Shiro and him playing Mario Kart on the Nintendo Switch like Pidge, Hunk, Lance, and I usually do. I smiled at Shiro, who noticed me and smiled back. When I exited the apartment I was surprised to see that it was almost dark outside. Looking at my phone, it said that the time was 4:30. It just got dark early, since it was winter.

I walked to the café. When I entered, Pidge was there with Hunk. Luckily for me, Lance hadn’t come yet. He actually hadn’t responded to the text— I had a bit of hope inside me that I could avoid that awkward conversation for now. 

“Hey, Keith!” Hunk said as I walked in, and Pidge waved to me. They were sitting at a table by the window, and I walked over and joined them. My phone buzzed, and I picked it up to see a text from Lance that read,  _ “Sorry, I was practicing. On my way now! <3”  _ I wondered what the heart was for. Then, I noticed Lance hadn’t responded to Pidge’s earlier text, the one after asking us to come to the café. 

“Hey, Pidge, what did you mean by that text you sent?” I asked her. 

“You know,” she responded, a smug smile on her face. 

“I was wondering that too,” Hunk said. 

“Just talking about what happened on New Year’s, that’s all,” Pidge said. Her smile remained. 

“Wait—” Hunk said. He seemed happy. “What happened on New Years?!”

“Yeah, Keith, what happened?” Pidge teased. I froze. What was I supposed to say? And for all I knew, Lance could happen to walk in at any moment. 

“Well...we, um… Lance, he…” I stammered for words. “He kissed me at midnight.” I heard a gasp from Hunk, and saw a wide smile on his face. He was about to say something, but then stopped when Lance walked through the door. I turned around, and he paused when he saw me. 

“Hey….” He said. Man, this was going to be awkward. 

“Oh, um, hi,” I said and turned around quickly. I was sure my face was bright red. I heard him walk towards me; then I felt his hand on my shoulder. 

“Hey man…look, I’m sorry about what happened a few days ago… I wasn’t thinking right, and when Pidge and Allura told me to do it… I guess I took their advice. Now it’s just really awkward between us and I just want things to go back to normal… I’m so sorry.  _ I’m an idiot. _ ” That last part Lance whispered under his breath, but I heard him. I guess I was right… he was dared to kiss me. But… there was a part of me that was also a bit sad hearing this. 

“Lance. Don’t worry about it,” I told him. “It’s fine.”  _ No, it’s not. _ Lance let out a sigh… of what seemed like relief. 

“Thanks for understanding.” I looked up at him before he turned to go order a drink. Pidge and Hunk then both looked at me with a disappointed look. 

“What was that? You’re not supposed to just brush it off!” Pidge said. 

“Yeah, I agree! You guys are supposed to get together! Now, you have to fix it.” 

“What do you mean?” I asked Hunk. 

“ _ What he means _ ,” Pidge said, “Is that you are  _ going _ to fix it. Come on, Hunk. Let’s go. Leave these two alone.” She walked out of the café, and Hunk followed behind her. That left just Lance and I; who when he got back with his coffee looked at me with a confused look, as if asking me where Pidge and Hunk went. 

“They left.” 

“Why?” 

“They said that…” I began, “They were leaving us alone to ‘fix it,’ whatever that means.” Lance froze at that. 

“What?! That means that they are trying to get us to get together! That’s Pidge talk for setting up!” Lance shouted. I stopped, and probably blushed.  _ Of course _ that’s what that meant. That’s also what Pidge’s text earlier meant. Why didn’t I notice that before? 

“Oh…” I started. I had no idea what to say, but I knew I didn’t want to stand here awkwardly with Lance anymore. I needed to think things over. “I’m gonna just leave,” I told him, and turned, then walked out of the store. I looked back, and could see Lance looking in my direction through the window. 

I walked for a block; then looked around, and noticed no one was around me. It was cold outside; and it would save me time to just go home this way. So, I transformed, and lift myself into the sky. I began flying higher, to get above the rooftops, when I heard a shout below me. It caught me off guard; I thought there was no one here!  _ Unless…. _

It was then when I felt a sharp pain in my left wing. I began falling to the ground; it hurt too much to fly. I crashed on the pavement, and only then did I see what had lodged itself in my wing; a knife. It had started to bleed a bit. I suddenly heard a voice behind me. 

“It’s you!”

I recognized that voice.  _ Oh no… _ I turned around, to see Dr. Zarkon running towards me, another knife in his hand. 


	13. Capture

_ ~ Lance’s POV ~ _

After Keith left from the café, I also began to walk home. I wasn’t going to admit it to anyone; but I was sad that Keith had left in such a hurry. He was acting like he really didn’t want to see me— at all. 

Suddenly I heard a scream somewhere behind me. I ran back to the café; it came from somewhere around here. I ran down a little beyond the café in the direction I heard the shout. It sounded like someone needed help. As I reached a small park, I began to hear people, and one sounded stressed. Then, I saw the corner of a wing...I think. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I rounded the corner to get a full view. I couldn’t help but let out a gasp when I saw what was going on. 

 

_ ~ Keith’s POV~ _

 

“Finally, I’ve found you.” 

Dr. Zarkon was standing over me. He had an evil smile on his face. The blade in his hand pointed towards me, and my heart was racing.  _ How could I have let him find me?! _

“W-who are you?” I manage to say. Of course I knew who he was, but I couldn’t let him know that… if he hadn’t already recognized me. He smiled again.

“What? You don’t recognize me? Well, you can call me Zarkon. Also, your attempt at making me think you don’t know me was absolutely terrible. I recognized you from the moment I caught you staring in class, when I’m sure you remembered the little  _ incident _ you had weeks ago.” The light from the buildings caused an eerie glow on Zarkon’s face, making him look even more malevolent. I was breathing hard, and couldn’t bring myself to respond. I was frozen. This was my worst nightmare; the one thing I had tried to avoid ever since I was 14.

I was pulled out of my state of terror when I heard a gasp behind me, and a name. 

“K-keith?” 

My eyes widened.  _ No, no, no… Please no! He can’t find out! Not like this!  _ Zarkon and I both looked up at the person. There, his mouth open, his eyes wide, shocked, was Lance. 

“What’s… what’s going on? Are you—” Lance paused when he seemed to be in even more shock than before. He was realizing that  _ I _ was the monster on the news. 

“Leave! This isn’t any of your business!” Zarkon shouted at Lance. My eyes were still on Lance when he looked at Zarkon with a face that showed no fear. 

“Actually, it is my business.”  _ No, no, no! Lance can’t be involved in this!  _ It was then and there that I made a decision… I had to protect Lance, at any cost. I just couldn’t let him get hurt. I attempted to backup, to get away from Zarkon and also closer to Lance. I moved my wings as if to shield him, but then wretched from the sudden pain. I had forgotten about the knife lodged in my wing. Zarkon saw what I did, and lifted his knife closer. 

“Oh, so you know each other?  _ How sweet.  _ You,  _ monster _ , don’t try anything, or he  _ will _ get hurt.” Zarkon pointed the blade at me, then Lance. 

“W-why are you doing this?” Lance said. His voice seemed scared, but like he was trying to be brave.  _ Like he wanted to protect me too. _

“I’m doing it for the good of the city. Would you want this monster roaming the city freely? It’s better for everyone if I take care of the problem.” 

“No. It wouldn’t be better. He’s my friend. I can’t let you take him.” Lance looked at me, and I looked back. Our eyes met. He seemed to be searching for something, like a clue… that what he was seeing was still the friend he knew. He smiled after a moment. A small smile, but still… perfect. His blue eyes showed how much he really cared. I saw that he was going to do whatever it took to try to get us both out of this alive. 

But, as much as he wanted to help, he couldn’t. Zarkon had a _knife,_ and Lance didn’t have a weapon of any sort. _Wait._ _I_ have a knife! My hand slid across the weapon tied to my belt. It was wrapped in a cloth; partly so that I wouldn’t be stabbed, but also partly because of the marking on it. I removed it from my belt, and held it in front of me, then slid it over to Lance quickly. 

“Here, use this!” I shouted at him. Lance picked it up, and eyed the knife curiously. 

“What- where did you get this?!”

“Now isn’t the time, Lance! Just use it!” He nodded, his expression confident. I struggled to stand up, but did, and stood next to Lance. His ocean eyes shimmered. 

“I promise, I’ll explain everything after this,” I told him. I moved my wing in front of me, and, as much as it hurt, I pulled the knife out. That caused it to bleed more; but I would deal with that later. Now I just needed to make sure Lance didn’t get hurt. We both stood and faced Zarkon. 

“This’ll be fun,” Zarkon said in the most menacing way possible. He then charged at me, ready to strike. I made a move. I blocked his blade with mine, then pushed him back with enough force to make him almost fall over. I smiled. I was stronger in this form; almost stronger than Zarkon was. I used this to my advantage, and ran at him, blade held in front of me. He jumped up and moved to the side. I stopped abruptly and turned back towards my opponent. Zarkon charged at me, but this time I tried something a bit different. I also ran towards him, and jumped up and kicked him in the face at the last moment. I spread my wings and used them to propel me harder. Zarkon was knocked down, and brushed his hand against his jaw, which began bleeding. I landed and took a moment to breathe. I glanced at Lance. He was standing exactly where he was before, staring at the fight laid out before him. He was scared. 

“You’ll pay for that,” Zarkon said as he stood up. His hand brushed against something attached to his belt. I then noticed what it was when he removed it, and now held a new weapon in front of him. It was just a small blade, and had many grooves along the sides. I wondered what those were for. I ran at him again, and used my blade to block his own. With my free hand, I moved to punch him, but he was too fast. Zarkon dropped his one knife, and blocked my fist. His arm went over my shoulder, and he pulled me down, and in the same second let go of the second knife and brought his fist into my jaw. I fell over, and my head ached. 

“Keith!” I heard Lance shout. My vision cleared, and I stood to see Zarkon holding Lance, a knife to his neck. I gasped. 

“Don’t hurt him!” I shouted. I saw a faint glow off of my nose, coming from my eyes. I raised my wings, my teeth were clenched, and in one hand, my fist clenched around the knife. My other hand formed a fist, but I stopped when I felt pain. I glanced down at my hand; my nails had turned into claws. I stood up taller, and smiled, showing my fangs. 

“Don’t you dare hurt him.” Zarkon and Lance’s expressions both turned fearful. I didn’t want Lance to be scared of me; but if it would keep him alive I’d risk it. 

“Let me capture you, and I won’t,” Zarkon said. I paused. If it was either me or Lance— I would choose Lance. It would be better off for everyone anyway, right? My blade hit the ground. I moved a wing to slide it over to Zarkon. 

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll let you capture me. Just  _ don’t hurt him. _ ” Zarkon smiled his normal menacing smirk. He raised his knife, and threw Lance to the side. 

Lance tried to run forward, shouting, “Keith, no!” Zarkon stopped him. 

“There’s nothing you can do. The monster made a decision. To save you,” Zarkon said to Lance. “You can’t save him now.” Lance took a step back. I looked at him. Our eyes met. He seemed to get the message, and stepped back. I felt my foot against something in the snow, that gave off a faint purple glow.  _ My blade. The one I gave Lance.  _ He must have dropped it when Zarkon grabbed him. A light bulb went off in my head when I remembered what the blade could do. I slid my foot under the blade, and kicked it up into my hand quickly. Zarkon might have had two knives, but I had one and a hand full of claws. 

“You made a deal! I can still hurt him,” Zarkon told me. He looked back at Lance, and then to me. 

“Fine. We’ll fight. If that’s what you really want.” I charged at him, and dealt a couple blows with my fist, which he blocked. He swiped his blade at me, and I blocked it with my own. But, Zarkon did exactly what I did earlier and pushed me back, as I was more tired now, and still losing blood. I fell over, my back hitting the ground. The bone from my wings dug into my back. Before I could stand up, Zarkon charged at me, knife aimed at my face. I stopped it with my blade, but he was strong. His knife was getting closer and closer to my face, and I soon wouldn’t be able to hold it back any longer.  _ Please, please work, _ I thought. I was talking about my blade; it was given to me by Krolia, and had some strange qualities. Krolia could make it transform into a larger blade, that didn’t look like it was from Earth. She and I would train together because she wanted me to be able to protect myself if someone were to ever find out my secret, and attack me. Well, now it seemed like that didn’t do very much good. And I still could never get the blade to transform. But right now I needed it to. I closed my eyes as Zarkon’s blade began to brush against my cheek. I felt a sharp pain when it started cutting my skin.  _ Please…. _

A bright purple light suddenly emitted from the blade. This caused Zarkon to jump back, and the sudden movement caused his knife to leave a deep cut in my cheek. I saw drops of blood hit the snow. The light cleared, leaving only a few bright sparks that soon disappeared. In my hand was now a much larger blade; that still had the glowing symbol on the handle, but also a luminescent purple stripe down the side of it. It was made with a dark metal of some kind, one that even Krolia never knew what it was. Or maybe just wouldn’t tell me. 

Zarkon’s eyes widened, and he gasped. “What- how did you do that?!” I opened my mouth to respond, when suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my head. I brought my hands up to it, dropping the weapon. My hand brushed against the cut on my cheek. I glanced at the knife Zarkon had used; and noticed something drip off of it. It was coated in something— something that was making my head feel light. 

“W- what did you do—” I stammered, multicolored dots appearing in my vision. 

“It’s something I made. If any gets into your skin, after a few minutes you’ll be unconscious,” Zarkon explained. His menacing smirk reappeared. I suddenly turned to Lance. He looked scared; and worried for me. I tossed my blade towards him. He picked it up cautiously. 

“Take this,” I told him, “and get help!” Zarkon had grabbed me, and held my arms behind my back. He had his knife against my neck as to show Lance that he couldn’t do anything. “Tell Shiro! Tell anyone, I don’t care!” Lance’s eyes met my own as Zarkon dragged me away, and I began to lose consciousness. He nodded slightly.

“Don’t worry. I’ll rescue you, Keith. I promise.” I gave him a look that said  _ Thank you, _ and a whole lot more. My vision faded as I finally passed out. 


	14. Stressed Out

_ ~Lance’s POV~ _

I stood alone outside. It had begun snowing. A moment ago I wasn’t alone, but now they were gone. That man—  _ Zarkon _ — he had dragged Keith away the moment he fell unconscious.  _ And I just stood there. I did nothing.  _ Why did I not do anything to stop him? I still had Keith’s knife, or sword, or whatever it was. None of this made any sense. Less than an hour ago Keith and I had been talking, and it never could have crossed my mind that he was a…. I didn’t want to say monster. I really didn’t. But what else could I say? Was he alien? 

_ Did anyone else even know about this? _ He told me to tell Shiro, so clearly Shiro didn’t know. Did Hunk or Pidge know? It sure didn’t seem like it. But they  _ are _ his closest friends, I think. There was that one guy from Keith’s studio, could he know? Or did Keith really keep this big of a secret from everyone. My mind moved back to what he had told me last. ‘ _ Tell Shiro. Tell anyone. I don’t care. _ ’ How on Earth would I tell anyone? Especially Shiro… Keith and him were so close, I don’t know how he’d take it. I didn’t feel like it was my place to tell anyone either. This was Keith’s secret… and although he told me to tell people… I didn’t feel it was right. But I guess I’d have to, if I wanted to save him.  _ And I did. _ I really did. My stomach began to feel sick, both thinking about telling the people he loved, and about Keith getting hurt. I was worried for him. 

If I did tell Shiro,  _ how _ would I tell him? How would I prove it was true? Would he even believe me? What would they think… I didn’t even know what I thought about it, and I wasn’t even that close to Keith. Would they help after knowing this?  _ Will I? _ What was I saying? Of course I’ll help him. He’s still Keith… I think. He had to be. He still had the same face… same purple eyes that showed so many emotions. Same awful mullet. I smiled for a moment.

I didn’t really know what to do. Even when I did tell Shiro, what would we do after that? How would we even find Keith? I came to realize that I was still standing outside in the cold. My hand clenched, and I saw that I was still holding Keith’s blade. His weird, alien blade that… transformed into a bigger one. As soon as he threw it to me, though, it turned back. I’d have to figure out how that was possible too. How any of this was possible. I put the blade in my bag, then started walking home. I needed to think somewhere that  _ didn’t _ look like a crime scene. When I entered Hunk looked at me strangely. 

“Dude, everything alright? You look like you just saw a ghost.” I walked past him. 

“Don’t worry. I’m fine. Honestly,” I lied. Then went upstairs. I sat down on my bed and pulled out the knife. The strange symbol on the handle still glowed. This was just all so confusing. And stressful. My heart was thumping fast, my hands were shaking, and my stomach felt sick.  _ Mierda. I thought I could be done with anxiety. Well, hoped. Of course it never left after last year.  _ I opened my eyes. I had to find something to distract myself. I glanced down at the scars on my wrist.  _ No.  _ I couldn’t let that happen again. 

I looked around the room. My eyes landed on many things. First the posters with photos of the ocean, and home. Next the guitar rested against the wall. The soccer ball on the floor. The stars I had stuck to the roof to make it seem more like home. My vision trailed to the desk. I landed on the photo Keith had given me. I leaned over and picked it up. I looked at Keith. I saw my friend; or at least I hoped so. I noticed something about his eyes in the photo. There was something there that didn’t show now. There was a certain…  _ sparkle _ in that photo that wasn’t there anymore. I smiled. I wanted to see Keith happy like that again. And that would mean having to tell Shiro, and rescue him. 

 

The next morning I woke up to my phone buzzing. I was tired, so I didn’t check who was calling me before answering. 

“Hello?” I said sleepily.

_ “Lance? Have you seen Keith?” _ The voice on the other end said, loudly. They sounded stressed. I definitely woke up more upon hearing this, and sat up.

“Shiro?”

_ “Yes, it’s Shiro. Have you seen Keith? He didn’t come home last night, and I’m getting worried.”  _ Oh no. I couldn’t tell Shiro  _ now _ , like this. What would I do? 

“Uhm… no, I haven’t seen him. I’ll keep an eye out, though,” I lied. 

_ “Oh- ok… thanks, Lance.”  _ He hung up. I set the phone down. I felt guilty. This wasn’t right… and I knew I had to tell him eventually. I just… didn’t know how. I glanced at Keith’s blade on my desk, and at the photo. I sighed. I had to. For Keith. I just wasn’t sure how I was going to do it. 

 

I lifted my hand to knock on the door in front of me, but hesitated. I was nervous. Nervous about how I would tell him, how Shiro would react. I knocked on the door. I heard muffled voices inside, then the door opened. It was Shiro. He looked stressed, and had dark circles under his eyes. His hair was a mess. It seemed like more of it was white than just the one streak now.

“Shiro?” He sighed.

“Oh, Lance. Hi. Come in,” He said, motioning me inside. “We’re still looking for Keith.” I felt a pang of guilt. I knew he wasn’t going to find him. So why didn’t I tell him earlier? 

Well, it didn’t matter now. I had to do it. I opened my mouth to speak, but then noticed the other person in the room. Shiro saw my look, and glanced over. 

“Oh, right. Lance, that’s Adam. Adam, Lance. He was.. helping me look for Keith.” Adam waved to me. 

“I- I can come back later,” I said, walking into the hall. Shiro followed me, and grabbed my arm.

“Why?” He said. He pulled the door to the apartment closed a little. I glanced inside. Then looked Shiro in the eyes. 

“It’s about Keith.” His eyes widened at that. 

“What? Why can’t you say it now?!” He said. His eyebrows furrowed. I also noticed Shiro’s irises get a bit smaller. 

“It’s- it’s serious. I need to talk to you privately. Sorry. Just text me when I can come. You have my number.” I turned and walked away. I heard a quiet  _ ‘okay,’ _ from Shiro. He was really worried about Keith. I hoped he wouldn’t be angry in a few hours. 

 

\- - -

 

“So, what is it?”

Shiro and I sat across from each other, me sitting on a bar chair and him standing on the other side of the counter. I had no idea where to start. Keith’s brother just looked so… worried to hear what I was going to say, as if I was going to tell him Keith died. Of course he didn’t, but, this would be equally surprising. Unless… he  _ did. _ No. It couldn’t be. I couldn’t think that it was even a possibility. We were  _ going _ to get Keith back. 

I stumbled for words, not sure how to start. I needed something to prove that what I was about to tell Shiro was true… so that he would believe me. Hopefully. I looked past Shiro, and my eyes landed on a pad of paper. That reminded me of something— that Keith was an artist. Maybe there was a chance he had drawn himself before… or something similar. 

“Do… do you know where Keith keeps his sketchbook?” Shiro raised an eyebrow, confused. 

“Uhm, yeah, of course. Here,” He said, leading me to the room I knew was Keith’s bedroom. I saw a pile of sketchbooks on his desk. I picked one up, and skimmed through it. There was nothing that worked. I looked through every other one, and still didn’t find anything. I set down the last book in the pile, sighing. This wasn’t working. Of course Keith never drew his secret. What was I thinking? Maybe I should just tell Shiro and get it over with. Even if he didn’t believe me. I’d still have to convince him to help, or maybe I’d just try to go myself. I slammed my hands on the desk. Why was this so hard for me? I felt tears start to well up in my eyes. I wanted to help. I really did. So why did I have to keep delaying? I was worried about Keith, scared even. Scared for what would happen when we found him, and what would happen after. A few tears fell onto the desk. They soaked into the paper laid out on the desk. I blinked, and rubbed away the tears. It was another sketchbook, one that I hadn’t looked through yet. It appeared to have had a drawing on it previously, but was erased. I picked up the book and sat down on the bed. I skimmed through the pages.  _ Please, please have something. _ My eyes landed on the page I had just turned to. I gasped. It wasn’t what I was looking for… but instead the drawing on the page was of… me. Well, sort of me. I was drawn with elf-looking ears, and two V-shaped marks on my cheeks. It just was of my head and shoulders, and there were flowers drawn around me, and stars in the background. Wow. I knew Keith was good at art, but he was… amazing at it. I looked at it again, and saw something that made my eyes widen a bit. I was so distracted by looking at, well,  _ me, _ that I hadn’t noticed that there was a heart by my head. I felt my cheeks redden a bit.  _ Wait, what? That’s not right. I’m just… worried about him, that’s all. Right? _

I kept turning the pages, then stopped when I saw what I had been looking for. There it was. A drawing of Keith’s… alien form? I wasn’t sure what to call him. With the sketchbook held against my chest, I walked back to where Shiro was. I took a deep breath.

“Ok. I was lying when I said I didn’t know where Keith was,” I started. “Well, I don’t actually know where he is, but I do know what happened to him.” Shiro looked even more worried when I said that. 

“Lance, w-what do you mean?” He said. The circles under his eyes seemed worse than before, and he clearly hadn’t slept in a while.

“I know this will be hard to take in, Shiro. Keith was hiding this from you, from everyone I think.” I started to turn the sketchbook to show him. “Shiro, there’s something you need to know.” 


	15. Secrets Revealed

Shiro clutched the drawing in his hands. 

“Wha- this… this is just a drawing. How does this have to do with what happened to Keith?” He looked up at me, confused. 

“I know it’s going to be hard to believe, but you have to listen to me. This isn’t just a drawing of something Keith made up. It’s real. It’s of Keith. He… he can turn into the creature he is in the drawing.” Shiro’s face went paler than it was before. His irises became smaller again like before. 

“What?” He said, sounding almost hurt. “No, no, no… that can’t be true. I would know a secret that big!” His voice became louder. I swear the whites of his eyes looked a bit yellowish. 

“Look, I can’t explain how he hid it, but it’s true. You have to listen to me, Shiro. He was taken. I found him in a fight with some  man, who had a knife. He was like this... he had purple wings, large fluffy ears, and a feathered tail and frill down his back. He had fanged teeth, yellow eyes. But I know it was Keith. The man cut him with a knife, that as coated in some... substance that made Keith fall unconscious. He then took him away. Keith told me that I had to tell you. He also gave me this,” I said as I took out the knife Keith had given me. “It was the knife he had on him during the fight. I know it’s a lot to take in, but you have to say something, Shiro. We have to help Keith.” 

Shiro just stood there, shock shown in his face. His hands were shaking a little. He looked down at the drawing, then slowly reached out to grab the knife. His face was turned to it, but his eyes were glossed over as if he was deep in thought. 

“Shiro?” Finally he set down the knife. He looked at me, and our eyes met. His eyes were normal now, and showed confidence and caring for his brother. 

“Okay. Here’s what we’re going to do. First, we’re going to tell Pidge and Hunk about this since they’re worried for Keith, and can help. Then we’re going to find all the information we can about this guy— and use that to figure out where he might be keeping Keith.” 

“Wait— so you believe me?” I said. I hadn’t expected him to accept this that easily. 

“Yes, of course I do, Lance. I wouldn’t expect you to make something like this up, and I’ve been suspecting Keith was hiding something for a while. Thank you for telling me.” He leaned over to hug me. It surprised me, but I hugged back. 

“Your welcome,” I said. He pulled away from the hug. “Now— how should we tell them?”

 

\- - -

There was a loud knock on the apartment door.  _ Pidge and Hunk. _ Shiro had called them over urgently so we could tell them. I opened the door, holding Keith’s knife in my hand. 

“So, what did you have to tell us so urgently?” Pidge asked. 

“It’s about Keith,” I told her. Her and Hunk saw the knife in my hand, and their expressions turned worried. I took a nervous breath as they entered the apartment. 

 

“So you’re telling us that Keith can transform into some sort of purple alien creature?!” Hunk said. He was freaking out just a little, pacing around the room. “How is this possible?!” 

“I think you mean avian. That’s what I would call him, at least,” Pidge said. She was unexpectedly calm. I looked at her, skeptical. “Well… I mean it makes sense. Remember the time he told us he crashed his motorcycle, but then we found it later parked and without a scratch? Also that same day it was on the news that there was a purple creature in the same area Keith had been? We now know what  _ really _ happened that day.” Hunk rubbed his hand through his hair. 

“Yeah, I guess you’re right, but still! This is crazy! Not only is he some sort of flying purple alien, but he’s now captured by some strange man out to hunt him? I do not like the sound of this,” Hunk said, worried. Shiro put his hand on Hunk’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Hunk. We’re going to find where he is and get him back.” Pidge smiled.

“Yeah! We just have to find where this guy lives, sneak in, find Keith, and get out,” Pidge said. “Simple.” Hunk looked over at Pidge. 

“I hate to be the voice of reason here, always, but how exactly are we going to  _ find _ Keith? We know nothing about this guy…” I smiled at Hunk. 

“Well... not exactly nothing. I know what he looks like. And also during the fight the guy said his name was Zarkon—” I was suddenly cut off by Shiro. 

“I recognize that name! He’s a professor at Keith’s college!” 

“Seriously?” I said. Shiro nodded. 

“That’s perfect!” Pidge exclaimed. “We can find his last name on the school’s database, and then I can use that to find where his address is. We’ll be rescuing Keith in no time.” I could only hope she was right. I was really worried something bad had happened to Keith.

 

\- - -

 

_ ~Keith’s POV~ _

My eyes opened to show a small, dark room.  _ Where am I?  _ There were no windows, iron bars as one wall, and the only light was given off some purple lights that lined the hallway. My head hurt like hell, and when I moved my wing to sit up, it sent a sharp pain through my back.  _ Shit. _ I leaned against the wall, groaning. Everything hurt. On both wings were metal cuffs that prevented me from opening then far enough to fly. There were bandages around my hurt wing, and one on the cut on my cheek as well..  _ Ugh.  _ That was definitely going to leave a scar. 

“Well, well.” I quickly turned around, my eyes wide. 

“Wh-who’s there?” I said weakly. 

“Good to see you awake,” The voice said again. It sounded feminine. An older woman then walked in front of the cell. She had long white hair, and two old scars down each cheek. My ears went back, and there was a soft growl forming in my throat. There was something… strangely familiar about her voice. But where could I possibly know her from? 

She held a plate that contained some bread and water on it, and set it down through the bars. 

“Who are you?!” I said threateningly. The woman smiled. 

“You can call me Honerva. I’m the one who’s going to make sure you stay alive while my husband performs…  _ tests _ on you. Now eat.” She walked away, leaving me alone again. 

I looked at the food skeptically. But, I was hungry, and it’s not like I could feel even more pain if I got sick. I picked up the bread and ate it. I winced. It hurt my jaw to chew, as it moved the cut on my cheek. After a little while, I heard footsteps down the hall, walking towards me. I stood up, and tried to make myself look more threatening. The person stopped in front of the cell. 

“Hello.” He smiled at me with that menacing smile.  _ Zarkon. _

“What do you want with me?!” I said, then growled, showing my teeth. 

“Follow my instructions, and you’ll get hurt less. Don’t follow them, and you’ll be in even more pain,” Zarkon said as he opened the cell. I was backed into a corner. My claws were out, and I was in a defensive position. Zarkon grabbed my hands and handcuffed them. He dragged me out of the cell, and down a dimly lit hallway. Eventually we approached a metal door, heavily locked with high-tech security. He opened it, and pushed me inside the room. I looked around. There was a large table in the center of the room, and it was lit by a large light set over it. On one wall were three large windows. Through them I saw skyscrapers and the sky. Set on the other shelves were shelves filled with deformed skulls, strange artifacts, and drawing of creatures hung on the walls. Across the room were shelves filled with all sorts of weapons and what looked like potions. The floor was littered with strange items that I didn’t recognize at all what they were for. As I was scanning the room, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my arm, and turned to see a needle injected in it. It drained some blood, then Zarkon put it in a small container. After a moment I began to feel dizzy. Blackness encompassed my vision. 

 

I woke up strapped to the table in the center of the lab. Dr. Zarkon was standing in a corner with his back towards me. 

“What do you want with me?!” I asked him once more. His head turned to face me. 

“I have been studying “abnormalities” and strange creatures for years. Ever since that first day I saw you, I’ve been trying to find and capture you. Now stay still. This isn’t going to hurt… me, at least.” He smirked. 

What happened first wasn’t that bad. He plucked out some feathers of mine, and examined my eyes, ears, and wings. Zarkon wrote down a lot of things during this. The rest of the tests were extremely painful, though, as Zarkon made me do multiple things to test how strong I was. 

After who knows how long, and however much blood lost, I was returned to the cell. There were new cuts all over my body, and old ones that had reopened. I leaned against the wall, unable to move, I was in so much pain. My ribs hurt, my muscles hurt, everything just hurt. I thought back to Lance, and how he promised he would save me. I wonder if he had told Shiro yet. Hopefully my brother wouldn’t be too angry. I wonder who else he would tell. Will he even be able to find me?  _ Please come,  _ I thought. _ I miss you.  _

I was pulled out of my thoughts when I heard a voice. It was muffled, and there was definitely no one coming near me, but came from somewhere above me. Probably on the floor above this in whatever building I was in. Maybe Zarkon’s house was above this lab. My ears perked up to try to hear what the voice was saying. 

“Father,” I heard them say, “I know you’re very busy with your research, but would you allow me to see the creature you’ve captured at some point? I would love to draw it.” Wait a second. I recognized that voice. But where from? They had such a familiar accent… 

“Of course, son. If you’d like you can go down now. Your drawing can be added with the other ones you’ve drawn of creatures I’ve found,” I heard another voice say. It was Zarkon’s. I heard steps, that sounded like someone was going down stairs. 

“Lotor,” I heard Zarkon say. I gasped, and felt my face go pale. _Lotor?!_ _He_ was Zarkon’s son?! No wonder I recognized Honerva! She was Lotor’s mother, who I’d met once before. What if Lotor recognized me when he came down? This was a huge problem. I would have paced around the cell if I wasn’t in so much pain. 

“Oh, right. Thank you, Father. I really appreciate it.” After that I heard footsteps approaching the cell. I turned around suddenly when he stood in front of me. Our eyes met. Lotor gasped, and dropped the sketchbook in his hands. 

“Keith?” 


	16. Setting Plans

~Lance’s POV~

I stared out of the window of the café. It was snowing lightly, and the new layer of snow had covered up the blood left from the fight. I was staring at the area where I had found Keith that night, and images of it had been going through my head for at least half an hour. I gripped a cup of coffee in my hand, the same as I usually got, a caramel macchiato. I had gotten extra coffee this time, as I hadn’t slept well last night. Outside the café people passed by, going on with their normal lives, busy with whatever it was they were doing. I observed, making up a story for each person, imagining the strangest scenarios about what could be going on in their lives. This is what I always had done back home when I needed to calm down.

A sudden buzz from my phone made me jump. I looked down to see who had texted me, but it was from an unknown number. The text read, Is this Lance? I opened my phone to answer it.

267-774-56867: Is this Lance?

Lance: Yeah, I’m Lance

Lance: Who is this?

I waited for a reply. After a few moments, another text came in.

267-774-56867: Lotor. Keith’s friend

Lance: oh, I remember you

Lance: but how did you get my number?

Lotor: Allura gave it to me.

Lotor: That doesn’t matter though. Do you know what happened to Keith?

I had no idea what to respond to that. Lotor was presumably looking for Keith, who was god knows where being tested on by some guy in a trenchcoat. Also, who was Keith’s professor. I finally  
decided to just play it cool, and tell him I didn’t know anything. But then I looked at Lotor’s text again. Do you know what happened to Keith. How he worded it sounded as if he maybe knew something. If he didn’t— then it probably would say something like, “Have you seen Keith” or something like that.

Lance: wait— do you know where Keith is?

Lotor: Yes. But in order to tell you, I have to know if you know.

Lance: fine. I do know

Lance: how do you know?

Lotor: Because the person who captured Keith is my father.

I let out a quiet gasp. Lotor was Zarkon’s son?! Did that mean he knew where Keith was? Had he found out Keith’s secret? He must have. I had to ask him where Keith was. Maybe Lotor could help us rescue Keith if he knew.

Lance: Where is he.

Lotor: In my house. My father has a secret lab on the floor below our apartment. That’s where I saw Keith. He told me that you had been there when he was captured and hoped you were trying to find him.

Lance: I was trying to find him

Lance: Can you help us get him out of there?

Lotor: Of course.

Lotor: Who’s ‘us?’

Lance: Shiro, Pidge, Hunk, and I

Lance: Btw, thank you

I put my phone into my pocket and ran out of the café after texting Shiro that I was on my way to his apartment. I had to tell him about Lotor.

I finally arrived at Shiro’s apartment and knocked on the door violently. When Shiro opened the door, he looked like he hadn’t slept at all again.

“Wha— Lance, what are you doing here?” He said sleepily.

“I know where Keith is!” I told him. That woke him up. His eyes widened, and for the first time in a few days there was a small smile on his face.

“Where? How do you know?” Shiro asked me as I walked into the apartment.

“You know Lotor, right?” I told him, and Shiro nodded slightly. “He texted me saying that he knew where Keith was, because he saw him in his house. Zarkon is Lotor’s father. And Lotor said he would help us rescue Keith!” Shiro smiled wider.

“Seriously? I can’t believe it, that’s amazing!” I was unexpectedly wrapped in a hug. Then I heard footsteps heading in from another room.

“What is it about Keith? Did you find him?” A voice said. I think I slightly recognized it, but wasn’t sure. Shiro let go of me.

“Actually, we did,” Shiro told them, still smiling. I turned around to see that it was Adam. He had been over a lot lately, hadn’t he?

“So? Where is he?” Adam asked. I looked over at Shiro, trying to ask him if Adam knew Keith’s secret without actually saying anything. Shiro just nodded.

“Well, it’s complicated. We have a lot to explain first,” He said. Shiro motioned for Adam to sit on the couch. He sat down next to him, and I walked over and stood by the wall.

“So, here’s the thing…” Shiro started.

\- - -

“Ok, so that’s the plan then,” Pidge said. We had been constructing a plan for a few hours, and finally finished. Now all we had to do was actually save Keith.

“When are we going to do it?” Hunk asked.

“Tonight, right?” I said, though Pidge hesitated.

“We can’t do it tonight. We aren’t ready yet. What if something goes wrong?”

“But we have to do it tonight! Who knows what Zarkon’s doing to Keith. The more time we wait, the more likely something bad happens to Keith, if not already,” I said. Pidge was about to say something, but paused. Hunk looked worried. Shiro was just deep in thought, not saying anything.

“Lance is right.”

Pidge turned to Shiro. “Look, I want to save Keith as much as you, but I think we just aren’t ready yet. We need more time to prepare.”

“Okay, but Lotor said that we have to go at night. Tonight would be the perfect time, because if we don’t do it tonight we have to wait another 24 hours and I don’t think I can handle that,” I said.

“Also we’ve been planning for hours. I think we have the most information we can know about the lab. Lotor told us pretty much everything.”

“How about we let Shiro decide? Keith is his brother, after all,” Hunk said.

“We need to go tonight. I know it’s risky, but there will still be risks if we wait another day,” I said. Shiro sighed.

“I hate to say it, but I think we have to wait until tomorrow. I want to get Keith back as much as you do, Lance, but Pidge is right. If we do it tomorrow we will have time to get the appropriate tools. You may have a weapon, but if Zarkon attacks us the rest of us have nothing,” Shiro finally said.

“Okay,” I replied. It upset me that they all wanted to wait until tomorrow to rescue Keith. How would they expect me to wait another day when we were already so close to finding him?! My thoughts were interrupted when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“Hey, we’re still saving Keith, even if we have to wait another day,” Hunk said. “I’m sure he’s okay.” I forced a smile, then looked down at the floor.

“So, we’ll see you guys tomorrow, then,” Pidge said as she began to walk to the door. Hunk followed her, and soon it was just Shiro, Adam, and I left in the room. There were a few moments of silence before I couldn’t take it anymore. I picked up Keith’s knife, which was sitting on the coffee table, slung my bag over my shoulder, and turned to leave the apartment.

“Where are you going?” Shiro said to me. “I thought you wanted to save Keith tonight.” I stopped.

“Are you serious?!” I said, my lips forming into a smile. Shiro glanced at Adam, then looked back at me with a sly smile on his face.

“Of course. I never wanted to wait to save Keith. He’s my brother,” Shiro said. “So, are you coming with us?” I clutched Keith’s knife in my hand.

“Definitely.”


	17. We Are A Good Team

Soon we were driving up to the tall building. It was dark, and all of the lights appeared to be off. I looked at the clock on my phone. It read 1:34 AM. I opened the door to Shiro’s minivan, and stepped out. Shiro and Adam followed. There was a bit of a sick feeling in my stomach, as I was nervous about how this would go. 

“Are- are you guys sure we can do it?” I began, worrying out loud. “I- I mean,, we’ve never done anything like this before, and what if we get caught—” Shiro stopped me by putting a hand on my shoulder. 

“Don’t worry, Lance. We’ll be able to do it. We’re a good team, right?” I smiled. 

“Yeah, you’re right. Thanks,” I said, then looked at the skyscraper. It must have had at least 20 floors, if not more. The ground floor walls were built up of all large windows. I saw a flash of white hair, and then Lotor opened a side door. He motioned for us to follow him. Adam placed his hand on Shiro’s shoulder, and looked back at me as we approached the building. 

“You ready?” 

I slid Keith’s motorcycle helmet over my head, then walked to the house, the knife he had given me in hand.

“Let’s go save Keith.” 

 

Lotor led us through the building, until we reached the elevator and rode it up to the 21st floor. It opened to a wide hallway, and we walked down it until Lotor stopped us at a locked door. This building was incredibly eerie, and looked almost like a hospital. Lotor pulled out a key, and opened the door. We walked down another dark hallway, until we reached another door. After unlocking this one, Lotor clicked a button on the wall, and lights turned on one by one. They gave off a purple light, which made the setting even more unsettling than it already was. I gulped, trying to push down the lump in my throat. Lotor had told us that Zarkon and Honerva(Zarkon’s wife apparently) were asleep in their apartment upstairs. But I still worried that we would get caught. I gripped Keith’s knife tighter as we walked down the hallway. We pass a door that has a complex-looking lock on it. 

“What’s that?” I whispered. 

“That room is my father’s lab,” Lotor responded. “Keith isn’t too far from here.” 

Past the lab were some other doors, and near the end of the hallway some empty cells. Lotor stopped us at the very last one. It was empty, but there was an empty plate on the floor, along with a few purple feathers.  _ Keith’s. _ Lotor froze, his eyes wide. 

“I- I don’t understand. This is where Keith was when I saw him, I swear.” 

“But then—” Adam began, but stopped when he heard footsteps approaching. Lotor’s eyes went wide. My heart rate quickened even more than it already was. He scrambled around for a moment, looking for a place to hide. He quickly opened the door across from us and shoved us into the room. He was breathing hard when he closed the door behind us. We peeked through the small window in the door. 

A large figure came into view. They wore a wine-red suit, and seemed to be dragging something large on the floor behind them. When I recognized the person as Zarkon my eyebrows furrowed and jaw clenched. I kept watching to see what Zarkon was carrying. I almost gasped when the sudden realization hit me. 

It was Keith. It was hard to tell at first. His body was covered in all sorts of cuts, bruises, and what might have been burns. His hands were cuffed, and he was being dragged limply behind Zarkon. He wasn’t an avian anymore, either. It looked like he had turned back to his normal self. Zarkon pulled a key out from a keychain attached to his belt, and opened the cell door. He practically threw Keith inside the cell. He landed the ground with a loud  _ thump, _ and I could hear a quiet whimper escape his mouth. 

“ _ Keith...” _ I whispered unconsciously. Zarkon turned around abruptly, his eyes widened a little. 

“Is someone there?” He shouted into the darkness. The four of us ducked behind the door so that he couldn’t see us. Zarkon scanned the area for a moment, then turned back to Keith. I peeked back over the window to watch him. He slid a finger across a bar on the cell. 

“Now, tomorrow, you  _ will _ transform into your monster,” Zarkon began, a malevolent tone in his voice, “Or your fate will be much worse than you ever could imagine. If you thought was bad, well,  _ Yorak _ , I’m afraid you have been mistaken.” With that he turned and left. After I could hear a door closing in the distance, I slowly opened the door we were hiding behind. I walked in front of Keith’s cell, and kneeled on the floor. Keith was laying on the ground with his back towards me. I was covered in cuts, more than I had seen from afar before. He appeared to be shaking slightly.

“Keith?” I said quietly. I heard a quiet gasp from him. He struggled to sit up, and then weakly lifted his head. Our eyes met. Keith’s mouth, open slightly, soon formed a small, relieved smile. 

“You came,” He said, his voice breaking. A tear trailed down his bruised cheek. 

“Of course I did. I couldn’t leave you here. You’re—” I hesitated for a second. “You’re my friend.” Keith smiled, and although his body was battered and bruised, I noticed a slight sparkle in his eyes.  _ His eyes the color of amethysts. Those that showed violent rainstorm, distressed by hazy lavender clouds, or that shone in the lilac sky of a new day.  _ I blinked a few times. What was I thinking? 

Keith stood up, his body shaking, and stumbled weakly over to the bars. He looked sadly down at the lock on the door.  _ Wait a second! _ It hit me when I remembered that Zarkon had never actually locked the door. I gave it a slight pull, and it moved an inch. I pulled the barred door all the way open. Keith’s eyes met mine, and he had a wide smile on his face(although I could tell that it hurt him to do that). I flashed a smile at him, then felt a pair of arms wrapped around me. It stunned me for a moment, Keith hugging me. But then I brought my hand up to his hair( _ wow _ , it was  _ really _ soft) and rested my face onto his shoulder. 

“Thank you,” Keith whispered to me. After a moment, I felt him freeze, and then let go of me. He was looking at where Shiro, Adam, and Lotor stood. 

“Hey,” Keith said awkwardly. Shiro just looked at Keith for a second, possibly relieved he was okay, possibly still stunned from this whole fiasco, and learning that his brother could turn into a purple avian. He then smiled, a warm, caring smile. He approached Keith, who held out his hand. Shiro shook it, and held it for a second. He then pulled Keith into a hug, who returned the hug and hid his face in his brother’s shoulder. 

“I’m just glad you’re okay, Keith,” Shiro said. “ _ We’ll talk later,” _ He whispered to Keith, who was close enough to me that I could hear it. Keith smiled at Shiro, then looked back at Lotor. 

“So you were helping, huh?” Keith laughed. “I had this crazy idea after you left that you were betraying me, and going to help Zarkon torture me…” 

“What? I would never do that. I care much more about you then I do my father.” Lotor smiled at Keith, who smiled back. Lotor looked down the hallway where Zarkon had gone. “Well, we should probably get going. We don’t want my father to come back and see us here.”

“You’re right,” Shiro said as Keith began to walk in the direction we had come from. We all began to walk down the hall. It was dark, eerie, and made my nerves jump at every creak in the floor. We soon passed the door to Zarkon’s lab. Immediately after we passed it, we heard the sound of a lock opening. Lotor’s eyes went wide. My heart rate quickened even more than it already was. The door to the lab opened, and before we could hide anywhere, Zarkon was staring right at us. 

“Lotor?” He said. “What are you doing?” Lotor stepped in front of us. 

“Saving my friend.” At that moment Zarkon’s face went from surprised to absolutely furious.  “Father?” Lotor whispered. 

“I thought I raised you better,” Zarkon said. His tone was cold. “I never thought that my own son would betray me, just for a friend he has not spoken to in what? 2?  _ 3 years? _ I’m your father, Lotor. Come, don’t ruin your life for these people! You can work with me, discover new curiosites! I’ve made some amazing discoveries. The energy inside all living things— it can be used as a power source. Who knows what else could be done with it?! You could continue my work when I cannot anymore. We would—”  

“ _ You  _ are the real monster,” Lotor cut Zarkon off, “How can you not see that?! You think I would help you, after everything you’ve done? What you’re doing is  _ illegal! _ Capturing innocent people, testing on random creatures, just because they look different from the rest of us. I would never help you do that.” He looked over Lotor for a moment, then stood up straight and adjusted the suit he wore. 

“Fine. You have chosen your side.” Zarkon calmly reached into the inside of his jacket, and pulled out a knife. It had a certain…  _ shine _ to it that I recognized. I heard Lotor gasp, and he turned back to us. 

“Run!” He shouted, sounding strained. At that Zarkon grabbed Lotor’s shirt from behind him and pulled him up. He pressed hard on a point by Lotor’s jaw, and Lotor fell unconscious. Zarkon set him down on the ground before looking back at the rest of us. Shiro grabbed my arm. 

“Come on, let’s go!” He said. I looked back at Keith as I turned to run. He hesitated. 

“What about Lotor? I can’t just leave him!” He told me. I turned to face Keith. 

“He’ll be okay, Keith. Zarkon wouldn’t kill his own son, even if he hates him,” I tried to reason. Keith looked back towards Lotor, worried, then nodded and followed behind Shiro, who had begun to run with Adam by his side. Keith and I caught up to them. We heard footsteps near us, and I turned my head to see Zarkon trailing close behind us. Keith turned a corner after Shiro, but I didn’t stop in time to see the open door in front of me. My head slammed into the door. I almost fell back, but caught myself and regained my balance. I rubbed my head. Who knew slamming your head into a door hurt this much? 

Just then I remembered that I was currently being chased by a mad man. I looked up to see Zarkon right over me. Before I could do anything, he had grabbed my hands and held them behind my back. I groaned from the strain of my muscles. 

“ _ LANCE!!”  _ I heard Keith shout. I saw a flash of purple, and then Keith had punched Zarkon, hard. The three of us flew back into the open room. As Keith tackled him, Zarkon released his grip on me, and I hit the ground hard and was sent tumbling until I felt my body hit a wall. Everything ached. My vision began to be clouded, and I lifted my head up slowly to see what was going on. I was laying on my stomach on the ground, and could see now that I had rolled into a large window that took up the entire wall of the room. I could see the lights from the buildings in the city and a few cars on the streets below. I moved my legs and arms to push my body up, and glanced up to see what was going on. Keith and Zarkon where also on the ground, and Shiro had now run into the room followed by Adam. Zarkon was the closest to me, and Keith was struggling to stand up by the door. I saw Shiro run over to him, and Adam grabbed his hand to help him up. He seemed to be breathing hard, and quickly turned back from an avian to a human. Keith leaned against Shiro, who helped him stand. He rubbed his head, and seemed to be saying something to his brother that I couldn’t hear. 

I heard a groan from near me. I turned my head quickly to see Zarkon on the floor, his hand up against his mouth. When he moved it away, I saw a long cut on his lip, which was bleeding. He lifted his head up, and his eyes met mine. He stared at me for a moment, then smiled his usual menacing smile that showed he had thought of something. I tried to stand up quickly, to get away from him, but felt a sudden pain in my leg, and fell to the ground again. I was facing the ground, and barely heard Keith shout my name before I was pulled into the air by the collar of my shirt. I couldn’t help but let out a shout, as my eyes opened and I saw Zarkon holding me up at arm’s length, near the window. 

“ _ Lance! _ ” Keith gasped, and I could hear the strain in his voice. 

“I  _ will _ throw him,” Zarkon threatened, “He will fall to the ground, a whole 21 floors. Unless, that is, you surrender yourself.” 

Keith stepped back a little. His face showed stress, worry, and that he was scared.  _ Really _ scared. 

“Please. Don’t hurt him,” He said. I saw a tear fall down his face. He looked at Shiro, then to me. We met, and I saw in his eyes something that I wasn’t expecting. 

“Keith, don’t do it!” I yelled to him, “ _ I’m not worth it! _ ’ His eyes continued to stare into mine. He took a step forward. 

“Yes, you are,” He insisted. Zarkon took a step closer to the window. He seemed to get in a stance to be ready to throw me. My heart raced, I knew I was about to be hurled through a window, and I struggled more to loosen Zarkon’s grip, but he was too strong. I looked back over to Keith, who was still standing there, his expression uncertain. 

I felt Zarkon pull me back, and then my back hit something hard. Glass broke. I felt a huge pain in my back, and then right above my eye. I felt the cold air hit my face as I was sent plummeting to the ground, broken glass all around me. I heard someone shout my name. I saw Zarkon’s satisfied face as he looked over the edge of the building. I saw two wings sprout from a person’s back as they bounded off the ledge after me, and I saw the blackness of the sky above me. 

 

I blinked slowly. My head throbbed, and felt as if I was going to faint any moment now. When I opened my eyes, I saw purple feathers close to me. My vision focused on Keith’s outstretched hand. I moved my hand up to graze his fingers. I must have been close to hitting the ground now. Keith disappeared when I closed my eyes again. The next moment, I felt arms wrap around me. 

I was no longer falling. In a gust of wind, I found myself holding onto Keith for dear life, and he held onto me. I squeezed him tighter, never wanting to let go. I felt his soft ears as I buried my face into his shoulder. 

“It’s okay, You’re okay,” I heard him whisper to me. “ _ I’ve got you.” _

I dared to open my eyes a little, only to see something amazing below me. We were high in the air, except this time I wasn’t afraid of falling. I trusted that Keith wouldn’t let go. I hugged him as he flew us back to where Zarkon and Shiro were still fighting. Keith landed on the floor of the room we had been in. He tumbled on the ground, and landed in the corner, lying on the floor. His wings were wrapped around me. After a moment Keith moved his wings, and I looked up at him. His now yellow and purple eyes met mine, and we gazed at each other for a moment before Keith stood up. He showed me an outstretched hand. 

“Lance, are you okay?” He asked me as I grabbed his hand, making no attempt to stand up. He crouched on the ground to meet my eye level. I nodded slightly. 

“I’m good,” I assured him. I then looked behind Keith; to see Shiro grasping Keith’s knife, fighting Zarkon. Adam was on the floor behind them, watching and looking terrified. I stood up abruptly, still holding Keith’s hand. 

“What’s the plan?” I asked him. He glanced at me. 

“Nothing,” He said, “I- I don’t have one.” We both looked back at Shiro and Zarkon. They lunged at each other, knives sparking at every hit. Shiro had a cut across his nose that was bleeding quite a lot; and Zarkon had just gotten cut on the arm a moment ago. They both appeared to be tiring, getting weaker. Shiro was knocked over by Zarkon, and Zarkon stood over him. He held up his knife, seemingly ready to  _ kill _ him. 

“ _ Shiro!” _ Keith shouted. He was about to run over to him, but I still held his hand. He looked back at me. 

“It’s not a good time,” I told him, “Shiro can handle it.” 

Shiro seemed to struggle to hold back Zarkon’s knife. After a moment he seemed to gain a bit extra strength and let out a loud scream as he shoved Zarkon off of him. I saw a flash of purple as Keith’s knife changed again— this time a bit of a different shape, but the new sword still had a purple glowing line down it, and the strange symbol on the handle. 

“ _ Woah,” _ I heard him whisper, astounded. Zarkon lay on the floor, straining to get up. Shiro saw Keith and I now, and looked at Keith with a confused expression, as if asking him how his knife could do that. Keith just gave him a soft smile and shrugged. We both walked over to meet him. He handed Keith the knife. 

“How— how did that happen?!” He stammered. 

“I actually have no idea,” Keith said, chuckling, “Just that it also happened when I was fighting Zarkon the first time.” We all turned our heads to Zarkon. He groaned, holding is arm tightly. Keith suddenly seemed to hear something, as his ears perked up. He gasped, then turned back to his human self. He looked at the entrance to the room we were in, and he smiled as a figure came into view. Lotor walked into the room, smiling. Keith let go of a breath, glad it was just Lotor and not someone else. 

“Hey,” Keith said to him, “Glad to see you’re okay.” Lotor smiled back at him.

“Did you think I wasn’t? I have a sturdy head, don’t worry,” Lotor chuckled. He looked over at where Zarkon was laying, and walked over to him. 

“Father,” Lotor said, speaking in the same malevolent voice his father uses, and looking down at him. He smirked. Lotor pulled out a pair of handcuffs, and cuffed his hands behind his back so that he would no longer be able to attack us. 

“ _ What do you think you’re doing, Lotor? _ ” Zarkon spat hatefully. Lotor glared at him, then turned his back towards his father. He pulled out the knife Zarkon had held during his battle with Keith— the one that held the venom that made Keith fall unconscious. 

“The right thing.” He gave him one last look before sliding the blade across the cut on Zarkon’s arm. Zarkon’s eyes widened, and then after a moment he hit the ground. Lotor turned back to Keith, Shiro, Adam, and I. 

“You guys better get going. I called the police, and they’ll be here to arrest my father any moment now. I wouldn’t want you to get caught up in even more trouble.” 

“Thank you, Lotor,” Keith said to him. The two hugged. 

“Glad to be friends again,” Lotor told him after, “We should keep in touch this time!” Keith chuckled.

“For sure,” He turned to face me, “We should probably leave. It’ll be good to be home again.” I just nodded in response, and walked next to him as we walked out the door. Shiro and Adam followed behind us after thanking Lotor for his help. I glanced behind to them, and noticed that they were holding hands. I hesitated for a moment, then moved my hand to graze Keith’s. I saw him jump slightly(and his face was red), but then he moved his hand around mine. I smiled slightly. We held hands all the way until we reached the car. 

 

Keith and I sat in the back seat. Keith yawned, and I felt his head fall on my shoulder. I smiled softly, but then felt a sudden pain over my left eye. I reached up to feel a deep cut on my eyebrow, and when I moved my hand away it was covered in blood. Keith must have noticed me jump, because he sat up and looked at me. He gasped quietly when he saw the cut on my face. 

“I’m sorry Lance…” He said, reaching his hand up to brush my face, “Are you okay?” I smiled at him.

 “I’m fine, Keith,” I told him. “Just glad you’re back. We are a good team.” 

Keith looked confused for a moment, then gave me a soft smile. His eyes sparkled. He rested his head on my shoulder once again, and only when I heard the rhythmic breathing of sleep did my heart stop trying to beat out of my chest. 


	18. Say Something

_ ~Keith’s POV~ _

The bright light of the morning covered my face as I opened my eyes. After they adjusted to the light, I was able to look around and see where I was. I was laying on the couch in my apartment.  _ Agh..   _ My head hurt like hell, and my attention came to the bandages wrapped around my torso. Just then I remembered what happened last night.  _ I’m finally home.  _

I stood up from the couch and walked(limped) over to the kitchen, where I made myself a cup of coffee. I heard the familiar  _ squeak _ of Shiro’s bedroom door opening, and in a moment Shiro walked around the corner and into the main room. 

“Hi,” I told him. 

He looked up at me with a tired expression, yawned, and then replied back with a simple, “Hey.” 

He made himself a cup of tea, and leaned against the counter. Shiro sighed, and rested his head on his hand. He had a bandage placed across his nose. 

“Are you okay?” I asked my brother. He nodded slightly.

“I’m fine. All this is just overwhelming, you know?” I nodded. I understood what he was feeling. That’s why I never told him, and because I didn’t want him to get hurt.  _ Look how that plan turned out. _

“Sorry.” Shiro looked up at me. 

“No, it’s not your fault. I should have noticed, should have paid more attention. I could have helped, we could have prevented this whole thing…” 

“What do you mean? It’s all my fault.  _ I _ chose to not tell you, and you had to find out by learning I’d gotten kidnapped by some random guy out to hunt me.” Shiro sighed. 

“ _Why_ _did_ you never tell me, Keith? Do you not trust me?” His voice grew louder.

“Of course I trust you, Shiro. I just… I didn’t tell you because I knew you would react like this. I was trying to protect you.”

“Do you really think  _ this _ is trying to protect me, Keith?” Shiro motioned to the bandage on his face. “I can protect myself. I just don’t want you to feel like you can’t trust me.” 

“I always knew I could… just, when that news report came up, you called me a  _ monster _ . Do you know what it feels like to be called that?! By your own brother? That’s why I didn’t tell you. I didn’t want you to know if you thought I was a monster. I couldn’t handle that.” 

“Look, I don’t think you’re a monster. You just have to understand that this is really overwhelming for me, and I’m sure to everyone else you got involved in trying to rescue you.” That last comment sent me off the edge. I stood up and pushed the chair out of the way.

“I didn’t  _ want _ to get so many people involved!” I shouted at him. 

“Well that didn’t really work out, did it?” Shiro said angrily. I noticed the whites of his eyes turn a light yellow. His pupils grew smaller. I stepped back.

“S-sh-Shiro…? What’s happening to you…?” I stuttered. 

“ _ Why didn’t you tell me, Keith _ ?” Shiro stepped closer to me with everything he said. I noticed he now had two sharp fangs as well. 

“I-I… I told you why,” I told him nervously. 

“Stop lying! Just tell me the real reason you never told me!” Shiro yelled. 

“I… I never told you because I was scared, ok? …I was scared as to what would happen when people I cared about found out what I was hiding from them. I couldn’t bring myself to deal with the guilt, so I just never told!” I felt a lump form in my throat. Tears began forming in my eyes. “I-I was scared, Shiro. I’m sorry.

You’re my brother. I…  _ I love you. _ ” Shiro paused, clearly surprised to hear that. His eyes grew back to normal a bit. He stepped forward cautiously, then hugged me. 

“I’m sorry, Keith. I… I don't know what’s happening to me. I haven’t really been myself lately,” Shiro said, his voice breaking. 

“It’s okay. We’ll get through this. I’ll help you.” We both stepped back from the hug. Shiro smiled at me, and nodded slightly. 

“I guess the tables have turned then,” Shiro said, chuckling. He was trying to lighten the mood. I laughed, and walked towards my bedroom. 

“Oh, and Keith?” Shiro said before I could leave. I turned around. “I love you too.” 

I smiled after a second and entered my room. I sat down on the bed, looking around. I was just glad to be home. Even though it was only just under a week I was there, it sure felt like a lot longer. My vision trailed to the desk, and I noticed that a sketchbook was opened to a recent drawing. I picked it up, and saw that it was the drawing of Lance I had done after I first saw him again a month ago. Gee, things had really changed a lot since then. For one, all of the people close to me now knew my secret, and seemed(I wasn’t totally sure) to accept it. Looking back at the sketch, my thoughts about Lance had also changed quite a lot. I now found myself blushing like crazy when I was around him… and we had kissed at New Year’s… I still didn’t know if that meant that Lance liked me, or if he was just dared to do it and wanted money. I might have had a small hope for the first one. 

I set the drawing back on the desk. As I did so, I noticed that the bandages on my torso were beginning to get old. I stumbled to the bathroom, and shut the door. It took me a moment to find where we kept spare bandages, but when I found them I carefully unwrapped the old ones. I was surprised at how bad the cuts were when they came off. I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked awful. The cuts that weren’t bad had scabbed, and there were some small scars on my chest and back from when I crashed into the glass. I pulled off the bandage on my face as well. I reached up to touch the large cut on my cheek. I closed my eyes. When I looked again, I had transformed into my avian form. I stared at myself, cuts all over my body and wings. What had this come to? I saw tears stream down my face. It stung when they passed over the cut, but I didn’t care. _I really am a monster, huh?_ _I sure do look like one._ I should have just stayed hidden. I shouldn’t have ever transformed in the city. What was I thinking? This whole thing was just a big mistake. 

I stayed there a little longer, because I couldn’t let anyone see me like this. Finally I was able to stop crying, and wiped my eyes, which were now red and puffy. I looked up at the mirror. Staring back at me I saw myself, except I had reopened previous wounds and had blood covering my chest. I heard Shiro shout my name, and my heart rate quickened. As soon as I could, I wrapped my cuts with fresh bandages, cleaned blood off the sink, and washed my face to make it seem like I maybe wasn’t just crying. I transformed back to human, and put my shirt on to cover the cuts. I stepped out to the main room of the apartment, hiding my eyes with my long bangs. 

“Keith?” I heard Shiro ask, “Are you okay?” 

“I’m fine.” I walked in the direction of my bedroom. 

“Okay, well I’m going to work. I might be back late,” He said. 

“That’s okay,” I told him, “I don’t mind.” Shiro smiled at me, slung his jacket and bag over his shoulder, and left the apartment. As soon as he left, it dawned on me that I didn’t actually know  _ what _ his job was. That interview he had gone to a month ago must have gone well— but he had never told me that he got the job, or ran into the apartment shouting that he got it like he usually did. I came to the conclusion that he just happened to forget, and with everything that’s been going on lately, I can’t blame him. 

In the corner of my eye I saw something on the floor by the couch. I walked over and picked it up. To my surprise it was one of my sketchbooks, open to a drawing of myself as an avian. I wondered who would have taken it from my room, and why it was out here. Maybe… maybe Shiro had somehow found out about me through this? That didn’t seem very likely, as I often drew people with alien-like features. The only person who had known about me was Lance, and he must have told Shiro. So, maybe Lance found the drawing and used it to tell Shiro what I was and what had happened to me. But then that could only mean… the drawing of him that was set out on my desk…  _ Lance _ was the one who saw it. Did— did he know? I had to find out. I took out my phone and sent Lance a text. 

**Keith: Hey Lance**

**Lance: Hey**

**Lance: Glad to see you’re okay!**

**Keith: Can we talk at some point?**

**Lance: Sure. Why?**

**Keith: Not much. Just a lot of stuff happened lately, you know?**

**Lance: Yeah, I know :D**

**Lance: Btw, I’m with Pidge and Hunk right now. When I told them I was texting you they said that they wanted to see you. Are you free? They were really worried about you and also know about what happened**

**Keith: Wait they know about me?**

**Lance: Yes**

**Lance: They’re mad at me because I didn’t tell them when we were rescuing you :(**

**Keith: :D**

**Keith: Where are you guys?**

**Lance: Pidgeon’s Lair**

**Keith: I’m on my way.**

I slid my phone into my pocket and grabbed a black leather jacket, and my keys so that I could get back in the apartment. As I walked down the many stairs I felt a sick feeling in my stomach. What were Pidge and Hunk going to say to me? They were my closest friends, and I had known them for years. Learning that I had this secret must have been hard for them. I opened the back door of the apartment building with a strong push, and a gust of cold air blew in my face. I shivered. It was a lot colder outside than I’d thought. I saw my bike in the parking lot and smiled. At least I wouldn’t have to be out in the cold for long. Since I didn’t have a helmet though(I couldn’t find it anywhere), the frigid air stung my face as I traveled to Pidge’s house. When I arrived I pulled my hair back into a ponytail so that it wouldn’t look  _ that _ bad from blowing in the wind. After a few moments of standing outside the door opened to Lance’s face. He smiled when he saw me, and let me inside. 

“Hey Keith! Come on, we’re all upstairs,” Lance said, turning to walk up the staircase near the entrance. I hesitated, and Lance looked back at me. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“Just… I’m worried about seeing them. What they will think of me…” I felt Lance’s hand on my shoulder. 

“Hey, you’ll be fine, Keith. They were both worried about you and just want to see you again, now that you’re okay. I know for a fact that they already accept you.” I looked up at Lance. 

“Okay,” I said. Lance smiled at me. He held my hand as I followed him upstairs and down the hallway to Pidge’s room. Lance looked back at me, a warm smile on his face. We stepped into the room. Pidge was sitting on the bed, tinkering with some gadget, and Hunk was sitting on the floor, leaning against the bed in the corner. They both looked up almost simultaneously. 

“Hey,” I said, walking into the room. Lance softly closed the door behind me. 

“Hey,” Pidge said, a smile on her face, as she took off her glasses. Hunk beamed a wide smile. I saw them both glance at the bandage on my face covering the cut.

“Hey! Keith!” Hunk said. He practically jumped up, and wrapped me into a hug. The surprise must have been evident on my face because I heard Lance giggle in the background. 

“O-okay. All right, now we’re huggin’,” I stammered out of my surprise(Also, the hug hurt my wounds a good amount). But after that I smiled and hugged him back. 

“We’re glad you’re okay,” Pidge said as Hunk let go of me. I moved to sit down on the carpet in front of the bed. Lance sat next to me. 

“Thanks, but I’m not  _ that _ okay,” I said, pulling up my shirt a bit to show the many bandages on my torso. I regretted saying that when I saw the pained expressions on all of my friends’ faces. “Don’t worry, guys, I’m fine. They’ll heal,” I stammered awkwardly. My hands fidgeted with the knots of the carpet. Pidge noticed, and showed a soft smile to me. 

“Don’t worry so much, Keith. We’re not going to attack you.” She chuckled. I smiled. 

“Yeah, I know. Just habits.” 

“So, tell us about this secret of yours,” Hunk said. I noticed he wasn’t wearing his usual orange headband, instead his dark hair simply fell around his face. I smiled. 

“Well, what do you want to know? You already know the most of it; that I can turn into a purple, fluffy, feathered creature with wings.” 

“Then… can you transform now?” Pidge said, curiosity evident in her eyes. I glanced at Lance. He provided a supporting smile and nod of his head. I turned back to my friends, and took a breath in. 

“Okay,” I said. I slipped off my jacket and shirt so that my wings wouldn’t rip through the fabric. I looked down at my hand, the tips of my fingers already beginning to change color. I closed my eyes, and felt my ears change into cat-like ones, and my nails turning into sharp claws. A line of feathers formed down the center of my back, ending in a feathered tail at the base. The two large feathered wings then formed immediately below the back of my shoulders, finishing the “transformation.” The whole process is pretty much identical to shapeshifting, except I can only shift into this one thing. 

I kept my eyes closed for a few moments, nervous about what my friends’ reactions would be. After a moment of silence, I just had to look. I opened my eyes to see Hunk, Pidge, and Lance all not moving, just sitting there gaping at me, their eyes wide. 

“Don’t just sit there gaping at me. Say something,” I told them jokingly. It was starting to get awkward, myself just standing there while my friends stared at me. 

“Quiznak, that’s cool,” Pidge finally said, still astonished. I cocked my head at her. 

“ _ Quiznak? _ ” She just nodded. 

“I had a dream a little while ago that everyone was in some weird space war, Allura and Coran were both aliens, and it was one of their alien curse words. I thought it seemed like a good word to use since  _ someone _ always yells at me when I actually swear.” She jokingly looked over at Hunk. He chuckled and turned to me. 

“Anyways, Keith this is amazing! How do you do it?” I moved to sit back down on the floor, folding my wings behind my back. 

“You know, I’m really not sure. It started when I was 14, and I was freaking out, so I asked my mom about it. She just told me that it runs in our family, and nothing more.” 

“Woah, that’s freaky,” Lance said, “Like what I mean is, you know next to nothing about how this is possible. What if you’re like half alien or something?” 

“Yeah, I guess I could, but wouldn’t we know if aliens came here?” 

“Well, you grew up in Arizona, right?” I nodded, and Pidge continued. “There’s a lot of desert there, so if there  _ were _ supposedly aliens, maybe they stayed hidden.” 

“Is there anyone in your family who is mysterious and could supposedly be an alien? Or… never met before?” Lance said. It was clear he was on the verge of laughter.

“No, not really. The only people I know in my family are my mom, Shiro, and my father before he died.” Lance paused. 

“Oh. Sorry, Keith…” I shrugged. 

“It’s ok, don’t worry about it. I’ve had lots of time to get over it.” I smiled at him to make my point. 

“Ok, Keith, next time you see your mom you have to ask her about this. See if you can get some answers,” Hunk said. 

“Well, I’ve asked before. She seems to know about as much as I do,” I told him. 

“Ok, sure, but don’t you want to know too?” Pidge said. I thought about it for a moment. I really did wonder how I could transform and where it came from, but every time I asked Krolia she would only give short answers and avoid the topic. 

“I guess you’re right,” I told Pidge. I hesitated, then looked up at my friends. “Are you guys sure you’re okay with this? …with me?” 

Pidge smiled softly. “Of course we are.”

“I’m not gonna lie, it was a surprise,” Hunk interrupted her,

“But it was a good one,” Pidge continued. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and turned quickly to see it was Lance. 

“Keith, your secret doesn’t change who you are. Avian or not, you’re still the same Keith we all care about and love.” 

I blinked, then smiled sweetly at Lance. He quickly moved his hand, his face reddening. 

“I- ah, I have to go, sorry guys… I have to, um, help Allura with something! Bye!” The door to Pidge’s room closed behind him, leaving Pidge, Hunk, and I confused about what just happened. I looked at both of them. Hunk and Pidge both had the same expression on their face; a sly smirk and sparkle in their eyes. 

“...What?” I asked them. They exchanged glances. 

“Oh nothing. Nothing at all,” Pidge said. I thought for another moment, extremely confused, then just decided to drop it. If it was important, I’d probably learn what it was soon. 


	19. Quiet Comfort

Late that night, I slid my helmet over my head and stepped onto my bike. I had just finished my last class of the day, and was about to head home. I looked around before leaving, and saw a hunched-over figure sitting on a bench a little farther down the street. It seemed like their shoulders were shaking, and they were staring down at their phone. Typically I would leave them alone, but I had to head in that direction in order to get home. As I got closer to the figure, I stopped my motorcycle abruptly. The figure wore a forest green jacket, one that I recognized. Their haircut and chestnut-colored hair I recognized. If their face wasn’t angled down so that I couldn’t see it, I would be able to see their ocean-blue eyes. It was  _ Lance _ . And he was crying. But why? 

I approached the boy slowly. I stood next to the bench, but Lance didn’t look up. 

“Lance?” I said softly. He immediately gasped and lifted his head to face me. 

“K-Keith? What are you…” Lance stopped when I sat down on the bench next to him. He looked at me, his eyes red and tears on his freckled cheeks. 

“What’s wrong?” I asked him. He looked down at his lap, avoiding the question. His hands fidgeted with his phone. 

“Lance.” I placed a hand on top of his. He continued to stare at the ground. 

“...Do you miss home?” He looked up at me, and nodded slightly. 

“Well… yes and no,” He said. His eyes became distant, looking out at something that wasn’t there. 

“I… I do miss my family, but that’s not why I’m sitting out here on a bench crying.” He forced out a chuckle, then glanced down at his phone, which had just buzzed to show a new text. His face immediately dropped. “Here— it would be easier if you saw it for yourself,” Lance said, shoving his phone into my hand. It was open to a texting chat with an unknown number, mostly texts they had sent Lance. I read through them. 

“Wha— Lance, who sent these to you?” It was a series of texts from someone, each telling something to Lance about how he was (to quote the person) a “pathetic crybaby for missing his family.” They also went into great detail about how they thought Lance was useless, and pretty much telling him that everyone hated him. One particular text said, “ _ no one at home misses you anyways. _ ” I felt a pang of anger begin to boil in my chest at this person who was being such a dick to Lance. 

“It’s someone from home. They… they always hated me, and I always hated them. A few years ago somehow they found my phone number, and started texting me under a fake persona. I- I trusted him, and told him everything. All my secrets, all of my problems. He acted like he cared… and texting him helped me a lot. One day when I saw him and we got into a fight he said something that I had only told the person I texted. I figured it out, and he told everyone I knew the one secret I had begged him not to tell. I blocked him, and of course we still argued when we saw each other in person, but at least I could try to shove him out of my life. But then... last night he- he just started texting me again with a new number. At first he acted like he was sorry for what he did, but of course I didn’t believe him, so he started sending those texts you’re reading. He said I was nothing… that I was totally useless and nothing I ever did would be important or change anything. I- I know I shouldn’t be affected by anything he’s saying, but I-I- I  _ am _ affected, and it’s hard to admit, but the things he’s saying are  _ true _ . I- I just can’t seem to—” Lance stopped, tears falling down his face. 

I looked at him for a moment, stunned by what he just told me. I felt angry at this person who was getting these ideas into Lance’s head that he was useless. I felt sad because it hurt me to see Lance like this, the opposite of his usually happy self. And I also might have felt a bit flustered, because _ man did he look beautiful right now. _ And as much as I wanted to wrap a wing around him, to hold him until he stopped crying, to comfort him, I wasn’t sure how. I didn’t know what to say to make him feel better, but I had to do something. I put my arm over his shoulder. 

“Lance, what are you saying? You aren’t useless at all. You’re so important to so many people. When you guys rescued me, that was all because of you. You saved my life, Lance, and I would trust you any day to do the same again. You’re talented, Lance, you have an amazing voice, can play the guitar beautifully, and are overall a great person to be around. But you haven’t been yourself lately, and I haven’t seen the Lance I know since Christmas when you told me that you were homesick. I miss that Lance. The one who, when you walk into a room, instantly lights it up with his smile. The Lance who always has my back. And the Lance who knows exactly who he is and what he’s got to offer.” 

Lance’s blue irises met mine, and for a moment we were both silent. He gave me a sad smile. I watched him as he leaned against my chest, his head falling on my shoulder. My heart beat fast, and I could only hope that he didn’t notice. My hand stayed resting on his shoulder.  

“Don’t ever believe that you’re worth nothing, Lance. You’re worth everything. No matter what that jerk says.” 

The Cuban boy glanced up at me, not moving his head. He was likely a bit surprised by my words. He smiled, a soft, gorgeous smile, and looked back at his hands. 

“Thank you,” He said quietly. I pulled Lance closer, smiling warmly at him. I could feel his breath against my shirt, now quiet and relaxed. My head lay lightly against his. 

After a short time, snowflakes began to fall on Lance’s hair, and a winter breeze hit our faces. I felt Lance shiver from the cold. 

“Lance…” I whispered, moving to stand up, as much as I wanted to stay there forever. “Come on, it’s cold out here.” Lance stood up, his arms wrapped around himself, visibly shivering. I slid off my leather jacket and held it out to him. He stared at it for a moment, as if hesitating, then took it and put it on. I gently held his hand and lead him over to my motorcycle, giving him my helmet when we got to it. Lance looked down at the vehicle for a moment when I moved onto the seat, motioning for him to sit behind me. He stepped over the bike and awkwardly wrapped his arms around my waist when I turned on the engine. I started slowly, but then sped up after a few moments. I felt Lance move to lean against me when I accelerated.  We turned down a street, getting closer to Hunk’s house.

“Wait,” Lance started suddenly, and I slowed to a stop on the quiet road. “Don’t go there, I- I don’t want to go back like this…” I turned to face him. He was facing the ground, his face dismal.  

“Ok,” I said softly. “Where do you want to go?” 

“I’m not sure.” I looked at Lance and smiled slightly. 

“Ok.” 

I started the bike again, turning the opposite direction from Hunk’s when we reached the turn. 

“Where are we going?” Lance asked me. I didn’t respond, but instead accelerated faster, and felt Lance tighten his arms around me. When I slowed to a stop, we were now in the parking lot of my apartment building. I lead Lance up the five flights of stairs, holding his hand the entire time. We entered the apartment, and I quickly scanned the place to find that Shiro was not home. I brought Lance to my bedroom. 

“Come on,” I told him, motioning to the bed next to me. He hesitated, but sat down anyways. 

“Do you want to talk more? Or just…” I stopped when Lance leaned against me. I wrapped him in a hug, and he moved his arms to hug me back. 

“What you said earlier, that was…” Lance trailed off. “It was nice to hear.” 

I smiled. “I just said what I thought,” I told him. I felt Lance’s heartbeat against my own— his was just as quick as mine. He moved away from the hug, facing me warmly. He smiled slightly. I looked into the boy’s blue eyes, now relaxed, showing a calm and peaceful ocean. Moonlight shone in from the window, sparkling off of the pieces of dust in the air. 

Lance’s eyes trailed over to the clock on my desk, and, realizing how late it was, stood up to leave. 

“Wait,” I started, fumbling with my words. “It’s late. You shouldn’t be walking home at this time…” Lance turned to face me. 

“You’re saying I stay over?” 

“Well, if you want to. I mean, I only have one bed and that might be kind of weird but it is really cold outside and I wouldn’t want you to get—“ I stopped rambling when Lance returned to his spot next to me. 

“Thank you, Keith.” He caught me glancing down at the bed again. “It’s okay. I don’t mind.” 

Truth was, I didn’t mind either. 


	20. Thinking Out Loud

_ ~ Lance’s POV ~ _

I lay awake, staring at the moonlight coming off the ceiling. My vision focused on a poster on the wall for the band Twenty One Pilots. Next to that was a Polaroid photo of two people I didn’t recognize. One was a woman who had long, dark bangs and a purple streak on the underside of her hair. The man next to her had a strong build, and coffee brown hair cut short. I looked down to my side, at my hand brushing through the tips of soft, jet black hair. I guess those people were probably his parents. 

My eyes trailed around the room, scanning the countless drawings and posters on the walls. I moved to sit up, careful to not wake the boy sleeping next to me. 

From the quiet I suddenly heard a door close, and footsteps leading into the apartment. I heard keys being set down, and something (possibly a jacket) thrown on the floor. After a moment the door to the bedroom opened, and a tired-looking Shiro popped his head inside. His eyes landed on me, and I stared back at him. My heart rate went up rapidly, thinking that Shiro might be angry with me being here. After a moment of a surprised look on his face, though, Keith’s brother smiled. He backed out of the room and closed the door quietly. 

I wondered why he was happy to see me here, and how come he didn’t ask me why I was sleeping next to his brother. I glanced down at Keith, his long bangs having covered most of his face. He had moved closer to me in his sleep, and had wrapped his hand around my arm. This is why I was awake; my heart was just beating too fast and I had too many confused thoughts to be able to fall asleep. 

Carefully, I moved out of the bed, trying to not wake Keith. I breathed a sigh of relief when he only flinched, but didn’t wake up. I quietly opened the door to the bedroom, and made my way to the apartment’s kitchen. I froze when I saw Shiro standing behind the counter, drinking a glass of water. 

“Hey,” Shiro said calmly when he saw me. I stood across from him, leaning against the counter. 

“Hey, Shiro,” I started, and paused. “You’re not going to ask me why I’m here?”

“Nope. I’m just glad you and Keith are finally getting closer.” He smiled, his mouth turning into a smirk. I sighed, fidgeting with my hands nervously. 

“Something wrong?” Shiro asked. 

“Yeah, I guess. I feel weird.” 

“How so?”

“I don’t know, I guess after everything that happened I’ve felt strange every time I’m around Keith, and I don’t know if it’s because my mind is still trying to process it, or if I don’t fully accept him or something. And I really don’t want it to be the second one,” I blabbered.

“Well, it depends what you mean by ‘strange.’”

“I feel nervous, sometimes really awkward, and I feel my face heat up even when it’s freezing outside. I’ve caught myself staring everytime he smiles at me, and have a weird feeling in my chest as well. It seems like my mind is spinning when I’m with him. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, why it’s so weird between us.” I turned to face Shiro, and noticed his mouth had turned up in a suspicious smirk. 

“… What?” I asked him cluelessly. 

“Lance, you shouldn’t be angry at yourself for feeling like that. It doesn’t seem to me like you don’t accept Keith, but more like…” Shiro stopped mid-sentence. 

“More like what?”

“It seems to me like love.” 

I froze. Did I… did I  _ like _ Keith? I  _ had _ felt this before, but hadn’t fallen for anyone for a while, so I guess I forgot what it felt like. 

“I think… I think I like Keith,” I said, mostly to myself out of realization. “Can I ask you something?” 

“Of course.”

I hesitated, trying to find the right words. “Should I— what do you think I should do?” 

Shiro looked down at me, smiling warmly. “Do what feels right, Lance. I see a bit of myself in you, you know. A few years ago, I felt the same about someone. I told them, and they didn’t reciprocate. But if that’s what you’re worried about, then I say you should tell him. I have a feeling he might feel the same.” 

“You think so?” I asked. Shiro nodded. “I think I’ll tell him, then,” I said, smiling.

“Then go for it,“ Shiro said, then yawned. 

“Ah- it’s pretty late, huh?” He said tiredly. I noticed dark circles appearing under the older boy’s eyes. 

“Yeah, I guess so,” I responded. “You look tired.” 

Shiro chuckled. “It’s been a long day.” 

“Goodnight, then, Shiro. Thanks for your advice.” I turned back towards Keith’s bedroom. 

“Oh, and Lance?” Shiro said before I left. He looked at me sincerely. “Don’t hurt him.” 

I smiled softly. “Don’t worry, Shiro. I won’t.” 

I walked back into the bedroom, closing the door quietly behind me. Keith was still sound asleep when I crawled under the covers. I moved my hand around his head, brushing his soft hair between my fingers. I lay down facing the other boy, and lifted my hand up to brush a strand of hair out of his face. I slid my thumb lightly over the bandage covering the cut on his cheek. 

“Goodnight, Keith,” I whispered. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly in a soft smile. I closed my eyes and fell asleep to the rhythmic beating of Keith’s heart. 


	21. Talk To Him

_ ~Keith’s POV~ _

I couldn’t believe what I had heard. 

_ Lance likes me.  _

It had been about an hour since Lance left. When we had woken this morning it was very awkward between us to say the least. Shiro hadn’t made it any better with his constant looks and teasing comments to me. What he didn’t know, though, was that I had heard the conversation he had with Lance last night. 

I now sat on my bed, staring at the spot Lance had been the night before. How was I supposed to tell Lance that I felt the same? Or at least, I thought I felt the same. I didn’t really understand love, and had only felt it once in my life before, which ended with a broken heart. I’d hadn’t let myself fall for anyone else since then. Of course, I loved my family, but I mean that I didn’t understand the type of love I think I felt towards Lance. It made me more confident having heard Lance tell my brother that he wouldn’t hurt me, though. At least I had hope that things could end well for once in my life… 

 

_ That night…    _

“Keith, you can’t just avoid him forever,” Pidge’s voice said through the phone. I was pacing around the main room in the apartment, now freaking out about what to tell Lance. I had also avoided seeing him yesterday, and so far that was the only plan I had until I figured out what to tell him. 

“I know I can’t, but unless you have a better idea, I’m sticking with mine,” I told her. 

“You could maybe  _ talk to him _ and tell him you feel the same.”

“Yeah, I know that, but  _ how  _ am I supposed to tell him?!” I almost shouted into the phone. 

“You open your mouth and say words,” Pidge said sarcastically. Her face on the phone screen seemed amused from messing with me. She had her short hair done up in pigtails, and wasn’t wearing her glasses. Her bull terrier, Bae Bae, sat next to her and occasionally popped her head into the screen. 

“Pidge!”

“Ok, ok. I don’t know why you’re coming to me about this. I’m more clueless than you about love,” Pidge laughed, “But, when you  _ do _ decide to talk to him, you shouldn’t be so worried about what he’s going to say. You know he likes you back, and also, if I know Lance, he’s not one to avoid those feelings like you. If you don’t tell him, chances are he’s going to confess to you soon anyway.” 

“You think so?” Pidge nodded. 

“Okay, thanks,” I said. “Do you think I should just wait for him then?” 

“Well, do you want to wait, or do you want to talk to him and be in a relationship sooner?” Pidge asked me. I thought for a moment. 

“I think—” I was cut off by shouting in the background of Pidge’s house. 

“Pidge, get down here!” Someone(I think it sounded like Matt) shouted. Pidge visibly jolted, surprised, then looked back at me. 

“Sorry, Keith, I have to go,” she said. “I hope you can stop freaking out a bit and just get together already!” The screen went black, and the “ _ Call ended” _ sign came up. I sighed. Should I take Pidge’s advice and talk to Lance? I knew that’s what I should do, but it made me so nervous even thinking about telling him, that I could probably never get myself to  _ actually _ tell him. 

 

_ The next day… _

“Are you okay? You’ve been acting strange lately,” Shiro asked me as I walked into the apartment, having just finished at the shop for the day. I sighed. 

“Yeah, I guess I’ve just been a bit overwhelmed by my thoughts,” I told him.

“What are you thinking about?” 

“Lance….” I started. Shiro smiled slightly. I sighed again. “You know how you talked to Lance that night he stayed over?” 

Shiro seemed surprised. “Yeah,  _ I _ know, but I didn’t know that  _ you _ knew. Did you hear our conversation?” I nodded. “So… you know that Lance likes you too?” I nodded again, then realized something. 

“Wait… ‘ _ too?’ _ ” I asked Shiro with a surprised expression on my face. 

“Yes, of course ‘too.’ It’s obvious that you like Lance, Keith.” My brother smiled down at me. “I’m glad you’re finally opening up more.” 

Our conversation was suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door. I looked at Shiro with an eyebrow raised. 

“Who’s that?” He smiled at me. 

“You know Adam, right?” I gasped, excited for my brother. 

“Wait, are you guys dating now?” 

Shiro laughed. “Not yet. But we are going on a date tonight, so I hope soon,” He said, smiling as he stood up to open the door. 

“Hey,” He said to Adam, who stood in the doorway, holding a bouquet of purple flowers. 

“Hey, Takashi.” I must have looked surprised— I hadn’t heard anyone call Shiro by his first name in a long time. But, Shiro didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he blushed even more.

“Ready to go?” 

“Of course,” Shiro responded, then looked back at me. “You’re okay?” 

“Of course! I think I know what I’m going to do.” 

“You do?” 

“Yeah,” I said, smiling. “I know exactly what I’m going to do now. Thanks, Shiro. Now, leave already! Stop making your boyfriend wait!” I laughed at Shiro’s flustered face when I said this, and pushed him slightly towards the exit. Adam laughed, smiling wide. Shiro left the apartment, and I saw his hand intertwined with Adam’s as I closed the door. 

 

\- - - 

I walked into the small flower shop. There were plants everywhere, lining shelves, hanging from the roof, and large pots on the floor. I wandered around the shop, which smelled like a summer day after it rained. It was quiet and peaceful, all that could be heard was the slight dripping of water from the plants. 

I scanned the many arrangements of flowers, searching for the perfect one. They were all nice, but none of them particularly stood out to me. I reached out to an arrangement of roses, the typical flower for what I needed them for. It didn’t seem quite perfect enough, though. I sighed. Why did I have to be such a perfectionist?

“Need any help?” A voice said from somewhere in the shop. I jumped, having not expected someone to speak to me. I looked around, and a girl stepped into my view from behind a large plant. She had pale skin and long, pinkish-red hair tied back into a ponytail with two french braids on the side of her head, along with long bangs over her face. The girl wore a grey apron over her clothes, and there was a nametag that read “Luka” attached to that. She smiled happily. 

“I, uh— yes,” I said, still having not been prepared to talk to anyone. 

“Are you looking for a bouquet?” The girl, presumably Luka, asked me. I could hear a slight accent in her voice that sounded British, but I wasn’t sure. I nodded. 

“Well, do you have anything in particular in mind?” She asked me. 

“Um, yeah, actually. Do you have any blue ones?” Luka smiled. 

“Of course,” She replied, “Wait here a moment.” She walked quickly into a back room, then emerged after a moment with an arrangement of blue flowers in her hands. At a second glance, I recognized the celeste flowers as forget-me-nots. 

“That’s perfect,” I said as Luka handed me the bouquet. I smiled. “I’ll get them.” 

“Great. Come over here to pay,” She said, blushing slightly. I followed her over to a counter that was set up with a cashier. It also had many pots with small flowers, succulents, and cacti set up on it. After paying, I thanked Luka, and walked out of the shop. I got a nervous, but excited feeling in my stomach when I realized what I had to do next. 

 

\- - - 

 

I stepped up onto the porch in front of Hunk’s house, holding the bouquet of flowers I had brought earlier. It was still raining, so I held an umbrella in the other hand. I rung the doorbell, and after a moment Hunk answered it. He cocked an eyebrow at me, confused as to why I was standing at his door with a bouquet of flowers. 

“Keith?” He asked me, confused. 

“Where’s Lance?” I replied(I was too nervous to manage any normal conversation right now). 

“He’s out back…” Hunk said. I walked past him and through the kitchen towards the back door. Only then did I hear an excited gasp behind me and a muffled, “ _ It’s finally happening!” _ I chuckled, and slid open the door. I stepped out onto the porch that was there, looking around. I didn’t see Lance anywhere. 

As soon as I thought that, I heard a muffled laughter coming from around the corner. As I walked towards the sound, I realized it was Lance laughing. I smiled. I hadn’t heard his laughter in a while, and it made me feel warm and happy. For a second I forgot about the reason I was here when I rounded the corner to see Lance, soaking wet in the rain and laughing. I was mesmerized by the handsome boy’s smile as he brushed his hair back and reached out his hand to touch the raindrops. I smiled before whispering just loud enough for him to hear. 

“Lance.” He instantaneously turned around, his ocean eyes wide. But when he saw me, he smiled kindly. I took a breath in. 

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.” 


	22. Can I Tell You That I Love You?

_ ~Lance’s POV~ _

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.” 

Keith took another deep breath. I could see his hands begin to fidget with the zipper on his jacket. The bouquet of flowers he held hit the ground, but I didn’t notice. I was too busy staring at Keith, silently hoping that what he needed to tell me was the same thing I had decided only seconds ago that I was going to tell him. 

“Lance I—“ He began. 

“W- Wait, Keith, hold on,” I interrupted him, “I’m going first. Just ten seconds ago I decided that I had to talk to you, and now you’re here, so…” I trailed off. Keith opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off again. 

“I was so worried when you were gone, you know. I got so stressed about the possibility of not seeing you again, and I missed you. A lot.” I paused for a moment, then continued. 

“What I’m trying to say is, after we got you back I realized that I felt different when I was around you, and missing you so much made me realize what that feeling was. I really like you, Keith. Like, “more than just friends” like you.” I stopped before I went too far. I didn’t want to say that I loved him, it was too early for that. I wasn’t even quite sure if I did. Before, I just thought that I had a crush on Keith, at most. But now that I thought about it… it was true. I think I did love him. 

I noticed that I had stopped talking, and Keith was looking at me with an awestruck look on his face. His eyes were wide, his mouth open a bit, and there was a blush deepening on his cheeks. It was cute. I smiled at him. 

“Right now might be too early, and I know you might not reciprocate, but I think that in the future I could love you, Keith. Like  _ really _ love you. I- I love so many things about you. I love how your eyes sparkle when you smile, and the sound of your laugh, although I’ve only heard it once. I love how sweet you are, and the many layers to you I found after getting through your outer ‘edgy guy who hates people.’ I’ve never met anyone like you, especially counting how you can turn into an avian,” I laughed a little. “I also love that about you. And as much as I hate to admit it, your awful mullet is really growing on me. It fits you.” 

My pupils moved from the plant I had looked off to, and met Keith’s. His face had turned a bright red, and it seemed like he was trying to figure out what to say. I added one last thing as I lifted my hand and brought a finger up to the bottom of his chin. I leaned forward a bit.  “And I love how your face is as red as strawberries right now.” 

Keith’s amethyst irises glanced down at my hand, and then up at me. He smiled, and his eyes lit up even more than they already had. 

“There it is. That sparkle in your eyes,” I whispered. He was close enough to me that I didn’t have to speak loud enough for anyone else to hear. I felt Keith’s hand land on my shoulder, and our faces were mere inches apart. 

“Do I even have to say it?” 

“Say what?” I said, half-jokingly, and smiling wider than I had been before. Keith leaned in closer. His lips grazed against mine, and he paused, almost hesitant. I smiled lightly and moved my hand to his cheek, brushing a strand of hair behind his ear. The skin on Keith’s cheeks was tinted pink, and I could feel his heart beating fast. 

I shut my eyes and closed the distance between us. 

Time seemed to stop for a moment, both of us just enjoying being this close. I forgot about the rain pouring down on us, the soft pound of thunder in the background. I pulled away after a moment, already missing the feeling of Keith’s lips against my own. My hand still touched his cheek, and I brushed my finger over his scar lightly. His purple eyes met mine, filled with a new light that hadn’t been there before. That sparkle I was talking about earlier. 

“That was….” Keith said finally, fumbling for words, his face red. 

“Amazing?” I finished for him. He nodded. 

“Wonderful. Unbelievable. Something I’ve been waiting for for a long time.” 

I smiled. “Me too,” I whispered, kissing him again lightly. I turned him around after pulling away, my hand held out. 

“We should probably get inside,” I said, tilting my head in the direction of the door. Keith nodded and whispered, “Yeah.” He reached out and slid his hand into mine. We walked together around the corner to the door from the porch. The door was glass, so we could see inside, and I almost burst into laughter when I saw Hunk standing in the kitchen as a wide smile appeared on his face when he saw us. 

Keith slid open the door and let me walk inside first. We continued holding hands, and turned to meet Hunk set a plate down on the counter. The Samoan boy had a huge smile on his face, and let out an excited squeal at the sight of us. 

“Are you two…?” Hunk asked happily. Keith glanced at me, asking the same question. I smiled and nodded slightly. 

“Yes,” Keith said. He sounded happier than I had ever heard him, and I was elated that I was the one to cause that happiness. 

“Aw, guys!” Hunk said, excited, and wrapped the two of us into a hug. After letting go, he gasped. “We have to tell Pidge!” 

“Don’t worry, I have a feeling she already knows,” Keith said, but the phone was already ringing. After Pidge answered Hunk began telling her what happened. Keith and I walked through the kitchen to the front of the house. He opened the front door, sadly telling me that he had to head home. I stopped him in the doorway. 

“So, when are you free?” I asked Keith nervously. 

“Anytime tomorrow after two,” Keith responded. 

“Would it be okay if I asked you out?” Keith smiled, then laughed. 

“Lance, we just kissed. Of course you can!” He said between chuckles. 

“Okay, then,” I said, smiling. I picked a red flower from a plant by the door, and put it behind Keith’s ear. “Keith Kogane, would you like to go on a date with me?” 

Keith chuckled. “Lance, you’re so cheesy.” He stopped, and blushed. “But I’d love to. Tomorrow at three?” 

I nodded. “I’ll pick you up at your place.” 

Keith turned to leave and smiled back at me. “It’s a date, then.” 

I watched him until his red motorcycle disappeared from view, and closed the door, smiling warmly. 


	23. Soaring Over Sunsets

_ ~Keith’s POV~ _

I heard a knock on the apartment door. 

“I’ll get it!” I shouted as excitement pooled up in my chest, and I ran towards the door. I opened it to see Lance standing there, holding a bouquet filled with red and blue flowers. I smiled. 

“Hey,” He said. He seemed a bit nervous, cue to his foot tapping rapidly against the ground, that he seemed to be trying to hide. 

“Hi,” I responded. “I just have to get my jacket, and then we can go,” I said, pointing behind me at where my jacket hung over the back of the couch. Shiro walked into the room as I slipped it on, smiling when he saw Lance. I turned to him and gave him a warning glare. 

“Not. a. word.” I told him. He simply continued to have the stupidest sly smile on his face. I turned back to Lance. 

“Ready to go?” I said, a smile appearing on my face. Lance smiled, and his cheeks blushed a bit. I closed the door behind us as we left. 

“So, where are we going?” I asked Lance. He handed me the bouquet, which I took from him happily. 

“You’ll have to wait and see,” Lance said. I followed him down the many stairs, and then to where his car was parked outside. We drove for however many minutes until we arrived at an area a little ways outside the city. I was confused, but knew that Lance wouldn’t disappoint. We walked through a thin wall of pines, and then entered into a large field. It was surrounded by trees, and in the center was an icy-blue lake. The whole field was covered in snow, as it was colder since this area was elevated higher than the city. The sunlight shone off of the snow, making the whole clearing sparkle. 

“Wow,” I whispered. Lance smiled at me. 

“Right?” He said, then held out an arm for me. “Come on.” We walked up to the lake, which appeared to be frozen solid. Lance set down the backpack he held and unzipped it. He then pulled out two pairs of ice skates. 

“What—” I started. I was a bit confused, but Lance seemed so excited about this(and seeing him so happy just might have looked adorable), so I complied. 

After I finally got the skates on my feet, we both walked towards the lake. 

“Are you sure about this?” I asked Lance, cautiously eyeing the ice. 

“Yes, of course. This lake is completely frozen, there’s no way for you to fall in, Keith. I would never risk that,” Lance said, smiling slightly. The look in his eyes showed that he really did care, and was confident about this. And I trusted that he was right. 

Lance put one foot on the lake. The blade slid a bit on the ice when he stepped on with the other foot. He wasn’t falling over, so I should be okay.  _ Right? _

Cautiously, I put one foot on the ice. I wouldn’t admit it out loud, but I was nervous. The only time I had ever gone ice skating I fell and ended up with a broken leg. Lance smiled, and held out a hand for me. 

“I won’t let you fall.” 

I hesitated for a moment, then put my hand in his and stepped onto the ice. My feet slid a bit and my legs wobbled, but I was less nervous than I was before. We skated towards the middle of the lake, Lance staying true to what he told me. I slowly grew more comfortable, and we slowly went faster. Lance spun me in a circle, and I let out an unexpected laugh. He looked at me surprised, a wide smile appearing on his face. 

At one moment Lance let go of my hand and skated faster than I’d ever seen before. He spun around multiple times, showing a talent I hadn’t known he’d had. The way he moved on the ice, it looked like he was dancing. I stopped, watching him, and time stopped too. And after that, when we skated together again, I never took my eyes off him. At one point Lance reached both of his arms out for me to hold, and I did. He pulled me in close, our faces mere inches apart. 

“So, how is this?” Lance asked me. 

“It was amazing up until the point you asked me how it was,” I told Lance jokingly. He smiled. 

“Point taken.” His mouth suddenly changed to a smirk when he got an idea for something. He winked. “How about this?” He took my hands and we began skating towards the other side of the lake, growing faster quickly. Holding both my hands, he spun us in a circle, and once we had enough momentum, lifted me into the air for a moment. I smiled, the rush of adrenaline getting to me, and enjoying the feeling of the wind in my hair. I looked at Lance, and time seemed to stop for those split seconds I was flying. Not in the literal sense, but this was better. Because Lance was here, and I loved the delighted smile on my boyfriend’s face.  _ Hold on. _ Could I say that yet? This was only our first date, but  _ oh _ , I really wanted to be able to call Lance my boyfriend. 

I was pulled out of my thoughts when I saw the side of the lake grow closer behind Lance. 

“Lance—!” I shouted, but got cut off when the two of us fell off the side and landed in a pile of snow. I opened my eyes as I pushed my arms up from beneath me. As I did so I realized that I had fallen on top of Lance. Our eyes met, and we stared at each other for a while. Soon Lance’s expression turned to a smile; it seemed like he was holding back laughter. I began to giggle as well, and then we both burst into a fit of laughter. I fell to the side, laughing, and then finally was able to almost stop soon after my side began to hurt from it. 

“That was amazing!” I said all of a sudden in between a fit of giggles. Lance look to the side at me. 

“Yeah, it was,” He said, smiling warmly. I felt my cheeks warm up, even though we were currently laying in the snow. 

“No, seriously, where did you learn to skate like that?” I asked him. “You’re amazing at it! And that jump thing? How did you even…” I trailed off when Lance pressed a soft kiss against my lips. I only stared at him after he pulled away. 

“What?” He said, blushing. “You were never going to stop talking otherwise.” I was pulled out of my shock enough to smile softly at him.  _ Yep. Definitely want to be able to call Lance my boyfriend. _ We looked at each other for a moment longer before it could become awkward, and Lance struggled to stand up in the deep snow. By the time he regained his balance, I had stepped out of the snow bank, and Lance followed to be at my side. 

“Do you want to get a drink to warm up? ‘Cause I know a good café nearby…” I held Lance’s hand. 

“Of course,” I told him. We both smiled and walked towards where Lance’s car was parked. 

We drove only a few short minutes to arrive at a small café in the town nearby called  _ Seven Seas Coffee _ . It was a small shop with stylish and cute decoration on the inside. The shop seemed to have blue colors and an ocean theme. 

“I’ve been here once before,” Lance whispered to me as I looked around, “And their coffee was really good.” We walked up to the front, where there was a girl standing at the counter. Her long hair was died a sea-green shade of blue, and she fit in perfectly with the café’s ocean aesthetic. 

“Hello! May I take your order?” She asked in a cheerful tone. I looked at the menu, unsure what to order. 

“I’ll have a caramel latte,” Lance told the girl, whose name apparently was Plaxum from her name tag. He turned to me. “Keith?” 

“I- uh, I’ll just have a dark—” I was cut off by Lance. 

“Hold on. You can’t just get your usual plain coffee, not with me. Let me order you something. I promise you’ll like it.” After finishing, Lance showed a kind, but also “please don’t get angry” smile on his face. Naturally, I couldn’t say no to him. 

“Okay, fine,” I said. Lance smiled and turned back to the cashier. He ordered whatever drink it was he thought I would like, then pulled out his wallet to pay just as I pulled out mine. 

“What- Keith, I’m paying.” 

“No, you already took me ice skating  _ and _ brought us to this café, so I’m paying.” 

“Yeah exactly! I brought you here, so it’s my treat. I should pay.” 

“The least I can do is pay for the coffee. Please, Lance.” I looked at Lance with the saddest face I could muster, which made him pause. Finally he sighed. 

“…Fine.” Lance said quietly. 

“Thank you,” I said, kissing his cheek lightly. After I paid for the drinks, we sat down at one of the tables near a window. Soon our drinks were ready, and we brought them back to the table. 

“So, what exactly  _ did _ you order me?” I asked Lance, smelling the drink. Lance smiled mysteriously. 

“Just taste it.” So I did. I took a sip. 

It was the best coffee I had ever had in my life. The flavors in the drink made it perfect, and it still had the strong coffee flavor I liked. 

“Wow… it’s perfect!” I told Lance before drinking more. He smiled. 

“See. I know what you like,” He said. We both laughed and continued drinking our drinks to warm up from the cold. Finally, something from earlier popped into my mind. 

“So, how  _ did _ you learn to skate so well?” I asked Lance. He paused for a moment.

“Well, skating is pretty similar to dancing. I’ve always been good at dancing, it’s like a hobby of mine, and when I came here Hunk’s family invited me ice skating, so I went. Only when I tried it out did I learn that I was good at it.” 

“Seriously?” I said when he finished. He nodded, smiling. “That’s amazing that you picked up on it that quickly. You looked like a pro out there.” Lance blushed a bit. 

“Thanks.” 

I looked out the window to see that the sun was starting to dye the sky pink. I gasped, and turned to Lance. 

“We have to go! I know a great place around here you need to see!” I told Lance. So, we left the café and hopped back into Lance’s car. I directed him where to drive, and within a few minutes we were near a hill that I knew looked over the city. I ran up the hill, holding Lance’s hand as he ran behind me, and as we reached the top I heard a gasp behind me. Lance was looking at the scene in front of us, of the city with the sky beautiful shades of pink and orange. But, as we approached the top I realized that this wasn’t the place I had expected. This side of the city had too many tall buildings and the hill was lined with trees, so you couldn’t see the view as well. I must have gotten it mixed up with where we were, because the hill I was thinking of was at the opposite side of the city. 

“What’s wrong?” Lance asked me. 

“Nothing really, just that this isn’t the place I wanted to show you. This view isn’t nearly as good as the place I was thinking about.” 

“Oh.” Lance looked out at the view. “Well… this is still nice.” He sat down at the roots of a tree, and I joined him. 

“Yeah, but I wanted to show you the nicest one. You’ve done so much for me today, and I wanted to be able to show you something amazing as well.” I pulled my knees up to my chest. Lance looked at me sadly. 

“What do you mean you haven’t done anything, Keith? You’ve made me happier here than I ever was before. I was homesick, and you helped me feel at home here. I— you saved my life, Keith. You don’t have to prove anything to me…” I looked up at Lance, and smiled. I leaned against Lance, who put an arm around me. He stayed silent. 

“Lance?” I whispered, and looked up at him. He looked like he was thinking, then his face lit up in a smile. 

“Wait… you want a better view, right?” Lance said. I nodded, confused. “You can still show me one!” 

“What do you mean, Lance?” I asked him. He wasn’t making any sense. There was no way we could get all the way to the other side of the city before the sunset was over. 

Lance stood up and looked out over the cliff. “Come on, Keith, you can’t seriously say you don’t know what I’m trying to say,” Lance said. He turned his head in the direction of the city, trying to deliver the message. I stood up to stand next to him. After a moment I finally understood what he was saying. 

“Re…really?” I asked him. “You want to do this?” Lance nodded, excited, it seemed. I smiled. 

“Then let’s do it.” I held onto Lance’s hand. “Hold on tight,” I warned him. In an instant, I had transformed and jumped off the cliff with Lance. As I did Lance let out a loud scream. I felt him hold onto me tight, clearly regretting his decision. I then spread out my wings, and beat them quickly to stop us falling. I gained altitude quickly, until we were well above the buildings. Lance continued yelling in fear when I did a flip in the air, which sent him flying out of my arms.  _ Oops. Probably should have thought that through better. _

I flew quickly to catch him, and the boy ended up landing on my back.  _ At least he’s safe, _ I thought. Lance hugged me tightly, his eyes pressed shut. I slowed down, and soon I was gliding along the wind currents. I glanced over my shoulder at Lance. 

“Lance…” I started, speaking softly. “Are you ok?” 

“A- are you crazy?” Lance managed to sputter. I felt a pang of guilt in my chest, knowing that I shouldn’t have scared him like that. 

“I’m sorry, Lance. But please, open your eyes.” Lance’s breathing eventually slowed down to normal and he blinked his eyes open. Although he still hugged me tight, he now looked out at the view in awe. 

“Warned ‘ya,” I said jokingly. Lance glanced down at me and rolled his eyes, also jokingly. He then looked back out at the city below us. I smiled knowing he wasn’t angry at me. 

“Keith… it’s amazing,” Lance said. I smiled at him and beat my wings to keep us aloft. It was harder carrying an extra person and seemed to be tiring me out quicker than usual. I flew higher, until I realized that if I went higher the air would grow to thin for Lance to breathe. I, on the other hand, could fly much higher than any person in this form and still be able to breathe well. 

We flew over the city, and I passed over a lot of the places we had been to. We flew over the café we frequently visited, and then the park where we had the snowball fight awhile ago. We passed by my apartment, where Shiro and Adam could be seen dining on the balcony. I noticed Shiro glance up at me as we flew by. I gained more altitude, until we were well above the city buildings, near the point of the tallest skyscraper. I felt Lance rest his chin in the nape of my neck as we flew across the city. We approached the hill I aimed for, and I touched down lightly on the powdery snow. 

Lance looked at me and laughed after situating himself. I tilted my head, one violet ear pointing up, one down. 

“…What?” I asked him. 

“Your hair’s a mess,” He said between chuckles. I quickly lifted my hands up to fix it, but Lance stopped me. “Don’t. It’s cute.” My heart started beating faster in my chest. We approached the single tree that was at the peak and sat down at its base. 

“Wow…” Lance said, looking out at the end of the sunset. Small dots of light could now be seen in the sky, which was a dark purple-orange gradient. Lance turned to look at me. “You were right. This view  _ is _ better.” I smiled, and we watched as the sun disappeared under the horizon line. 

Lance turned to face me, and brushed a strand of my hair behind my ear. I blinked. He leaned in closer to me, and I transformed back to normal as I did the same. We kissed, savoring the moment. I fell into Lance’s chest after, and he wrapped an arm around me. He looked out at the stars, shining brightly. 

“Wouldn’t it be amazing to go to space?” Lance whispered all of a sudden. I looked up at the Cuban boy, who was smiling fondly, his eyes sparkled with curiosity. 

“It would be,” I responded. “It would be amazing to see your face when you actually got up there.” Lance chuckled slightly. 

“Yeah, I suppose. I wonder what kinds of creatures we would discover, if there even is life out there,” Lance said. 

“I’m sure there is,” I told him, thinking back to something I had heard a long time ago. A cold wind suddenly blew from behind us. I shivered, and Lance moved so that both arms wrapped around me. I smiled. 

I wanted to stay there forever, in Lance’s arms. 


	24. Graduation

_ 2 years later _

~ _ Lance’s POV~ _

Laughter and happy conversation filled the small hallway as our group approached Lance and I’s apartment. 

Yes, that’s right. Keith and I lived together. After Shiro moved in with Adam when they had been dating for a year, I began living with Keith. He needed help paying rent, and I had to move out of Hunk’s place because his cousin needed a place to stay. I was really only supposed to stay at Hunk’s until I got a place of my own so I had to move out soon anyways. And soon after our first date we decided that we were boyfriends, so it was a simple answer to the apartment problem. 

“You have a key right?” I was pulled out of my thoughts when Pidge spoke. Keith and I both looked at each other, causing Pidge to groan loudly and start complaining about how we were both useless. 

“Don’t worry, I still have my key,” Shiro said from behind Pidge, Romelle, Hunk, Keith, and I. He handed Keith his keychain, who unlocked the door. 

Our apartment was a bit of a mess, and Shiro immediately commented on that when we entered. After he said that Keith threw his graduation cap at him, which hit him in the face. He burst into laughter. 

Soon after that his cap hit him in the face, Adam having thrown it, protecting his boyfriend. 

We had just graduated a hour ago(‘we’ being Keith, Hunk, Romelle, and I), and then left to prepare the apartment for the party that was supposed to start in thirty minutes. 

There was a knock on the door. 

“It’s open!” I shouted, too busy admiring my boyfriend dying of laughter to open the door. Coran entered, followed by Allura, who was hauling a large cooler behind her. “What’s in the cooler?” I asked, confused. 

“Drinks. For your party,” Allura said. I was surprised she could carry the thing on her own. It seemed heavy. 

“Congratulations, my boy!” Coran said as he hugged me tightly. Over the past year or so, I had somehow become Coran’s favorite out of the people in our friend group. 

“Thanks, Coran,” I managed to say through the bone-crushing hug. 

 

Half an hour later, friends from our college(along with friends who weren’t) began arriving at the apartment. I began blasting music from the loudspeakers we recently bought, and the first song was High Hopes by Panic! At the Disco, of course. 

Soon more people arrived, and the party really begun. People drank, danced to the music, and celebrated finally being out of college. I might have been the only person who didn’t get at least tipsy, as I hated the taste of alcohol. I really only ever drank it if I felt sad. 

I was currently chatting with some friends, and felt someone tap my shoulder. I turned around to see Hunk and Pidge standing behind me. 

“You have to come over here, now,” Pidge said. I looked at her, confused and worried that something was wrong. 

“Nothing’s wrong,” Hunk told me, as if reading my mind, “It’s just that Keith is drunk and it’s the most hilarious thing.” I gasped. 

“Seriously?! I love drunk Keith!” My two friends led me over to the living room, where most of the people were. I spotted Keith near Allura and Lotor(who was helplessly flirting with her the whole time), along with a lot of people I didn’t recognize. 

As we approached, I started hearing Keith’s voice over the loud music. He was singing along to the song and danced with a group of people. Although, Keith was horrible at dancing. I started laughing when I saw him, he looked so ridiculous. After a few minutes Keith looked in my direction and smiled when he saw me. He walked over, and crashed into me. I held him up as a support. 

Keith looked up at me, and lifted an eyebrow, smiling. 

“Hey gorgeous,” He said in a flirty tone. I felt my face heat up a bit. I couldn’t help it! 

But then I noticed Keith’s hand, which looked like there were darker spots slowly appearing on his skin… I gasped when I realized what was happening.  _ Shit.  _ Keith was transforming! In the middle of all these people! 

Quickly I dragged him into the kitchen, then to the next room where my bedroom was, and pushed him into the room. I locked the door as Keith stumbled backwards and fell on the bed, fully transformed. One of his wings hit the nightstand, knocking some pens on the floor.

“What were you thinking?!” I spat at him, although of course I knew he wasn’t. I sat down on the bed next to him. “Can you… transform back?” I asked him when he stayed quiet. Keith nodded. After a few seconds his wings were gone, and his ears were back to normal. He smiled at me. 

“Sorry,” Keith said sadly. My heart hurt knowing that I made him sad, so I brushed a strand of hair behind his hair and kissed him. His mouth tasted like alcohol. 

“Don’t worry about it.” Keith smiled mischievously and glanced down at the bed. I stood up. “No, Keith! There’s people right outside!” I half-shouted, then reached for Keith’s hand and exited the room. 

Many hours later, everyone had left and the party was over, leaving Keith and I alone in the apartment. He was still drunk of course, which was no fun for me, but a small part of me admitted that I liked taking care of him. We snuggled on the couch, wrapped in blankets, and I put on a movie; How to Train Your Dragon. Keith transformed when we got to a part where Toothless was flying. 

“I wish I could fly like that,” He said. 

“You can, Keith,” I responded. 

“I mean now..” 

“No, no. It’s dangerous now. You’re drunk.” Keith yawned, exposing his sharp fangs. He stretched his wings, then folded them neatly against his back. He fell against me and curled up in my arms, like a cat. I laughed internally at the thought. 

“You’re warm…” He mumbled. I smiled. 

“Rest,” I whispered, stroking my hand through his soft hair. 

“I love you,” Keith whispered, barely loud enough for me to hear. 

“Yo también te amo, Keith. Con todo mi corazón.” 

I remembered something after I said that. I looked over at the tv, but didn’t really see it. A tear threatened to escape, and I closed my eyes to prevent that. I had planned to tell Keith tonight, but seeing as he was drunk I would have to wait until tomorrow, which wouldn’t give us much time. 

“What’s wrong?” I heard Keith ask me. I jumped slightly, his voice pulling me out of my thoughts. I hadn’t realized that he opened his eyes, because aside from that he hadn’t moved. 

“N- nothing,” I stuttered. “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine,” I lied. Keith looked at me for a moment, then closed his eyes again. His breathing eventually slowed down enough that I knew he was asleep. 

I must have also fallen asleep at some point, because before I knew it I woke up to sunlight against my face. 

 

Keith was no longer against me, though, but was now standing at the counter, drinking a glass of water. I heard my phone buzz, and picked it up from it’s spot on the coffee table. It was a text from Pidge. 

**Pidgeon: Hey gays! Summer road trip anyone?**

I sighed, and looked up at Keith. He was only wearing his boxers and a t-shirt of mine that was far too big for him. It fell over his shoulder, exposing the large scar he had gotten two years ago before we had discovered his secret. Keith looked up at me. 

“What’s wrong?” He asked, concern filling his voice. 

“I…” I started, but couldn’t get myself to spit it out. My phone buzzed, showing texts from Hunk, Shiro, and Allura all agreeing to Pidge’s idea. 

“Keith, I need to tell you something.” He walked over and sat on the couch next to me. 

“Okay. Good or bad?” He asked. I looked away and rubbed my arm. 

“Oh.” 

“I’m sorry,” I started, “I- I have to go back to Cuba.” 

“Wh- what…? You’re leaving? For how long?” I looked down at my hands, which I tapped anxiously against my leg. I blinked, and a tear fell down my cheek. 

“I- I was only meant to live here to get through college. My family, they… they need me back home, they want me to come back. I…” I couldn’t say any more. 

Tears filled my eyes and dripped onto the couch. Keith stayed silent, looking astonished, scared even, but nonetheless pulled me into a hug. I felt the back of my shirt get wet where his face was. He was crying too. 

“I’m so sorry Keith,” I said, choked. He didn’t respond. 


	25. I Don't Want To Let Go

_~Lance's POV~_

I turned to face my friends, my family when I was away from mine. Everyone was silent, not knowing what to say, but we were all thinking the same thing. I had to leave now, and they couldn't follow me through security.

"Guys—" I started, but then was cut off by someone tackling me into a hug.

"I'm really gonna miss you," Pidge says, her voice choked. I wrapped my arms around her.

"I'll miss you too, Pidgeon," I said. She didn't even comment on the nickname I knew she hated.

"I can't miss this!" Hunk suddenly says, tears in his eyes. He hugs us both, causing us to fall over in the process. Shiro and Allura both ran over and joined in the hug.

"I'm going to miss you so much. You're like my best friend, Lance," Hunk says. I smiled.

"Thanks guys. I'm gonna miss you all..." I said, hugging my friends tighter.  A minute later we're standing up. I looked over at the one person who didn't join in, who had stayed quiet ever since I told him that I was leaving...

"Keith..." I said, taking a step towards him. The Korean boy didn't respond, his head hung low and bangs covering his eyes. But I knew he had been crying. I approached my boyfriend and wrapped my arms around him. He buried his chin into the crook of my neck, and I reached up and stroked his soft hair.

"I know you're only acting angry so it hurts less," I told him. Keith was breathing hard and his shoulders shook a little.

"Maybe you're right," He whispered, so quietly only I could hear him.

"It's okay..." I started, but Keith pulled away from the hug. His eyes, tears brimming at the sides, locked with mine. I brushed my fingers against Keith's scar. "I love you, Keith." Keith smiled, but his eyes were still sad.

"Yo también te amo, Lance. Con todo mi corazón," He said. I smiled, astonished that he knew how to say that in Spanish. I pulled him in for a kiss, hoping to make it last forever. I felt a tear slide down my cheek.

It ended too soon.

Keith brushed away the tear that had fallen then looked down.

"When... when will I see you again?" He asked, hesitant.

"I'm not sure..." I whispered. I couldn't lie. Keith pulled an envelope out of his pocket, and handed it to me. I took it.

"Open it when you get there," He said. I blinked and tears fell from my eyes. I pulled Keith into a hug for the last time.

"I love you," I choked, a lump in my throat. "I love you so much." We pulled away, both knowing that I had to leave now. I turned to face everyone, smiling sadly.

"Bye, Lance," Keith said as I walked towards the security line. When I turned around they were gone.

\- - -

I entered my room in my family's home in Varadero. It still looked exactly the same as when I had left. I hadn't seen my family, or my home, in years, and a small part of me felt happy to be back in the familiar place. But most of me didn't find it so familiar anymore. Over the years, our apartment in Philadelphia had grown to be my home. The apartment where I lived with  _him._

I threw my backpack onto the bed, and as I did the envelope Keith had given me fell out onto the floor. I picked it up.

For a moment, I hesitated, thinking that I shouldn't open it yet. But then I found myself sliding my nail underneath the flap and pulled out a folded piece of paper. I unfolded it, and a single purple feather fell onto my lap. I picked it up, smiling slightly.

Written on the paper was what seemed to be a letter. I read it carefully. It said:

_Lance,_

_By the time you're reading this you will be back home, and we'll have said our goodbyes. I'm really not sure what to write, and I don't want to go into anything cheesy because you already know all that. You're probably wondering what the feather is for, which is something to remember me by. I don't know when we'll see each other again, in real life I mean. I hope we can talk sometimes when you aren't too busy. I know there's a small chance that you'll come back, especially anytime soon, but... I don't care how long you're gone, if you ever come back just know that I'll be here. I don't know if you'll feel the same, but I wanted to write this here in case I don't get to tell you before you leave._

_I will love you forever. That's a promise._

_Hell, that sounded really cheesy. I'm laughing at myself as I write this. But, well, it's also true._

_Bye, Lance. I'll miss you._

_Love, Keith_

I dropped the letter when I finished reading it. My heart was beating fast, and the feather I was still holding trembled because my hands were shaking.  _You did this to yourself, Lance_. The thought repeated in my head like a broken record, over and over again.

 _You did this to yourself. You chose to leave._ Why _did you choose to leave? You didn't want to._ But my family needed me... I had to leave. I could only hope that I would see Keith again. And if I did, I wouldn't let him go. 


	26. For Forever (Epilogue)

_~3rd Person POV~_

 

Lance waited impatiently in the crowded room. His eyes darted from face to face, trying to find something familiar. While he searched, his hands fiddled with the object in his pocket; a soft, lilac-colored feather.

The fragile object had been given to him as a gift, one that he had never forgotten. Words he had memorized from reading them so many times played through his mind. “ _I will love you forever. That’s a promise.”_

Those words were his only hope that tonight would go well. Lance smiled when he remembered the message that followed those words that meant so much to him. “ _Hell, that sounded really cheesy. I’m laughing at myself as I write this. But, well, it’s also true.”_ Immediately after, though, he thought of the reason the message existed in the first place. Because he left.

And it was all his fault. He would always tell himself that, that he _did this to himself_ , that he _chose_ to leave. But he didn’t choose. He had to, even though he desperately didn’t want to.

That very day that he had arrived home again, Lance realized that it wasn’t home anymore. His home wasn’t there, home was with _him_ . So that’s when he decided; if he ever saw _him_ again, Lance wouldn’t let him go.

And that was exactly what Lance hoped to do tonight. He wanted to see him, to touch him, hold him again. Worry pressed against his stomach for the fear that something would go wrong.

He soon realized that if he kept fidgeting with the feather, he could break it. So, he left it safely tucked away in the pocket of his suit. The white-tinted jacket and matching pants he wore were accompanied by a red shirt underneath, and a red tie as well.

“Hey, are you okay?” A voice suddenly spoke behind Lance. He turned rapidly. The person who spoke froze in shock when she saw his face.

“Lance?” The girl said quietly, almost a whisper. The girl wore a white suit similar to Lance’s, but had a green tie and white button-up. Her dirty-blonde hair was cut short, one half of her bangs pinned back. She appeared to be around 21 years old.

“Hey, Pidgeon,” Lance responded. Pidge smiled widely and gave Lance a quick hug.

“What are you doing here?!” She asked him after the hug. Lance hesitated for a moment.

“I was invited,” He finally decided.

“And you didn’t come to—” Pidge started, but Lance cut her off.

“No-no-no. Not at all. Definitely not.” He made his point by making a sliding motion with his hands as he spoke. Pidge smiled mischievously.

“Yeah, because that definitely wasn’t a purple feather that fell out of your pocket when you moved your hand?” Lance froze. He glanced down at the floor, and sure enough, the feather was sitting lightly on top of his shoe. He quickly picked it up so that it wouldn’t get trampled by someone’s feet.

Pidge continued looking at Lance. “So?” He asked him. Lance sighed.

“Yes, I was hoping to… but I’m not so sure anymore. I don’t know, we haven’t seen each other in such a long time, and I just…I’m worried.”

“Hey, Lance…” Pidge started, putting a hand on his shoulder, “You should know that you have nothing to be worried about. I know that he feels the same. I probably shouldn’t be telling you this, but, just a week ago he was cleaning his apartment and found a photo of you… he started crying, Lance. You of all people should know that he barely ever cries…”

The hurt in Lance’s heart grew a little more upon hearing that. By leaving he made… he made _him_ , the person who only cried in the worst possible situations, he made him cry at just a photo.

“I.. I did that?” Lance whispered.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Pidge assured him. Lance twirled the champagne glass in his hand.

“I.. I think the champagne is getting to me. I’m just gonna go sit down for a bit,” Lance said as he turned away and pushed through the crowd of people. Pidge looked at him worriedly as he walked away.

Lance found himself walking towards a set of doors, that he soon found out led to a small balcony. He could see someone leaning against the railing, who appeared as only a silhouette. From what Lance could see, the person had wide shoulders and a fairly muscular body. They had long hair that was tied back into a ponytail, and, based on their slumped position, appeared to be sad. Lance approached the railing(making sure to not be too close to the other person) and leaned against it with a sigh.

He could tell that the other person had glanced at him, because who wouldn’t if a stranger suddenly appeared next to you on a random balcony? What Lance wasn’t expecting was the sound of a glass shattering to suddenly spark through his eardrums.

He turned rapidly to see a champagne glass had fallen to the ground. Presumably it had belonged to the other person.

“What the fuck?” Lance snapped, still in shock. The stranger didn’t respond. Finally Lance looked up at their face. He froze.

There was a shocked look frozen on the person’s face. It seemed like thoughts were racing through their mind at the moment. Their chest rose and fell fast. Lance first noticed the familiar way that their dark hair fell over their face, except one side was pinned back, revealing the person’s usually hidden eyes. Their purple irises glistened in the moonlight. He wore a black suit that had a blue under shirt and a sapphire blue tie.

“Kei—” Lance started, unable to finish the word. For minutes both boys stared at each other, the same shocked look on their faces, the same thoughts running through their mind.

“L-lance?” Keith finally stammered. “You’re…really…here..”  The sentence came out more as a question than he anticipated.

“yeah…” Lance said quietly in return. “I am.” Lance paused, and looked Keith up and down.

“Did- did you get bigger? You’re bigger right?” He said, his mouth open a bit. Keith looked at Lance and burst out laughing. Lance’s heart skipped a beat, and all of the butterflies in his stomach fluttered away.

“Well, it has been a year,” Keith told Lance when he’d stopped laughing.

“Right,” was all Lance could say. He was too busy staring at Keith in awe, and Keith noticed this.

“What?” He teased, hitting Lance lightly.

“N- nothing,” Lance replied, shaking his head and hiding his face. Keith smiled.

“Well, in _that_ case, let’s get some drinks,” He said, motioning for Lance to follow him back into the reception, “I need another.”

Lance watched Keith walk away for a moment. The long-haired boy glanced back at him. He nodded his head in the direction of the bar. Lance smiled and jumped up to follow him.

\- - -

 

“I do.”

Adam’s voice echoed through the room. He smiled hopefully at the man in front of him.

“Takashi, do you take this man as your lawfully wedded husband, to love and cherish him for as long as you both shall live?”

Shiro smiled softly. “I do.”

Coran, the minister, smiled widely. Before he could say anything Shiro wrapped his arms around Adam and kissed him.

Everyone in the room applauded. Lance smiled for his two friends. His blue eyes met Keith’s, who was standing at the front of the room as Shiro’s best man. Keith smiled warmly when he saw Lance.

 

\- - -

 

Hours later the two found themselves on the green hill underneath the balcony where they had met each other. There was a cold wind chill, and Keith had wrapped his wings around Lance to keep him warm. _“Don’t worry about my suit,”_ he had said when Lance had asked him about it.

They were both stargazing. Keith looked out at the vast night sky, watching the shimmering stars, and Lance was looking up at Keith.

“Keith?” Lance whispered. His hands fidgeted nervously with one of the feathers on Keith’s wings.

“Yeah?” Keith responded. Lance breathed in.

“Ok…” He started, the question on the tip of his tongue. After a moment, he spoke again. “Do— do you want to try being together again? This time I’m never leaving.”

Keith looked down at Lance in surprise. His amethyst-colored eyes sparkled.

“Of course,” Keith whispered. He smiled and wrapped his arms around Lance, hugging him. Lance was beaming, relieved, though inside he knew he hadn’t needed to ask; they both knew the answer beforehand.

 

Only a few months later Keith was kneeling before him, a beautiful purple ring in hand. That was the night Lance promised he would stay with him for forever.

And they both kept that promise.

 

\- END -

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with the release of How to Train Your Dragon 3, I give you the end of this book.
> 
> Hey guys!
> 
> Wow, I can't believe that this is finally over. It's been just over 8 months since I started this story, which according to the google doc I wrote it all on was June 8. That's 26 chapters of Klance and over 45,000 words! FAFYT is the first story I've written that I actually had the motivation to finish(and the first Klance story I've written), and I'm so glad I did. I've loved seeing all the comments, reads, and every vote. Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you all enjoyed it!
> 
> So, well, I guess this is it. You all really don't know how much it means to me that you're enjoying my writing. Thank you. <3
> 
> Until next time,
> 
> Soni


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